Winter Storm Warning, Wind Chill Advisory as Borderland sees several inches of snow, I-10 pileups
EL PASO, Texas — A strong storm system blanketed much of the Borderland with several inches of snow Sunday as the area also was set to see cold wind chills overnight resulting from strong winds and plummeting temperatures.
"We'll see the coldest air and temperatures we've seen since 2011 by Monday morning," warned ABC-7 chief meteorologist "Doppler Dave" Speelman.
The National Weather Service quickly upgraded what was a winter weather advisory to a Winter Storm Warning for El Paso, Dona Ana, Hudspeth, Otero and Culberson counties in the ABC-7 viewing area. The NWS also issued a Wind Chill Advisory for El Paso and Hudspeth counties for Sunday afternoon through Monday morning.
The El Paso International Airport reported numerous flight delays, while local school districts cancelled in-person classes for Monday and El Pasoans Fighting Hunger said there would be no food pantry service on Monday. You can see the full weather closure and delays list here.
Road conditions quickly deteriorated on Sunday, triggering numerous traffic crashes along Interstate 10 in the region due to snow and ice - although there was no word of fatalities.
In El Paso, there was a 15-vehicle pileup on I-10 west at mile-marker 50, and another multiple vehicle crash involving a jackknifed truck at I-10 west and Paisano. In Hudspeth County, there was a 10-vehicle crash on I-10 west at mile-marker 97. And in New Mexico, a crash closed I-10 east near Deming for part of the day.
Transmountain Road through El Paso remained shut down until further notice due to poor road conditions. El Paso County Sheriff's deputies said other roads that were closed had since been reopened.
In New Mexico, transportation officials reported problems for much of the day in the Anthony Gap area with roadways being snow packed and icy. As evening approached, authorities said driving conditions had improved from "dangerous to fair" but they warned "roadways could refreeze overnight."
The day began with early morning hail followed by snow in El Paso. It began falling earlier than expected and had already accumulated an inch by about 8:30 a.m., ABC-7's StormTrack Doppler radar showed.
By the time the snow moved out toward day's end, three inches had officially fallen in El Paso - with Las Cruces and Anthony each seeing about an inch and a half. There was significantly more snow recorded in the upper elevations, most notably Ruidoso with 14 inches. Click here to see more snow totals.
In addition to the snow, below-freezing temperatures took hold over the region. As a result, people were encouraged to stay home and warming shelters were opened Sunday in both the cities of El Paso and Sierra Blanca due to the extreme weather.
The weather service said "cold wind chills" would occur Sunday night and driving conditions could worsen again as roads re-freeze. Blowing winds could have gusts of up to 35 to 45 miles per hour.
"Wind chill values will drop into the single digits to teens Sunday night into Monday morning," the NWS said in an advisory.
For current weather conditions, live Doppler radar, the latest forecast and details of watches and warnings, visit kvia.com/weather. The latest traffic conditions can be viewed at kvia.com/traffic.
📸 Scenes from Transmountain from Albert Lara with our @TxDOT West Area Office Maintenance Crew.
— TxDOT El Paso (@txdotelp) February 14, 2021
⚠️ Remember, road closed until further notice.
🏠 Stay home if you can.
🚘 Check then drive to conditions if you need to be out.
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