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Approximately 100 vehicles were stranded after a semi-truck jackknifed on a rural New Mexico highway as a potent winter storm blasted northern parts of the state and Colorado Thursday, authorities said.
More than 5.8 million people across Colorado and New Mexico were under winter storm warnings as heavy snow created “difficult or impossible travel” conditions in parts of the states, according to the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque. Accumulating snow has led to road closures and triggered several accidents during what the weather service has described as a powerful, early-season snowstorm.
More than 10 inches of snow have fallen in parts of the state, with more snow continuing to fall, a NWS spokesperson told CNN. Additionally, 20 mph winds are contributing to a wind chill of about 17 degrees. Winds gusting up to 40 mph have created near-blizzard conditions and snow drifts exceeding 8 feet.
Dozens of drivers in northeastern New Mexico’s Union County, one of five counties under a blizzard warning, became stuck on US Highway 64/87 after a jackknifed semi-truck blocked traffic and snow drifts built up on the road, said Kristopher Lawrence, Union County’s emergency manager.
“Most everybody that’s out here is in some sort of a small car, and (it is) almost impossible without moving major snow amounts to get them broke free, but we are trying,” Lawrence told CNN Thursday afternoon.
Officials have asked drivers to remain off the roads while the New Mexico National Guard works to reach stranded drivers.
The traffic backup happened in a rural part of the state near Des Moines, New Mexico, where resources are limited, he said.
“That jackknifed semi is out of here already, and that’s how we were able to get 30 to 40 cars moved, but now we’re waiting just for our dozers and our snowplows to get back over here to help clear more ways to get these people headed in a direction, at least,” Lawrence said.
The efforts to get all drivers moving again could take several hours amid below-freezing temperatures, according to Lawrence.
“What we’re instructing them to do is to run their vehicles for around 10 to 15 minutes and then shut them off, wait another 15 to 20 minutes or until they can’t stand the cold, and start them back up again,” Lawrence said. “That’s how we can do it to save gas and to also prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Meanwhile, more than 30,000 customers have lost power in New Mexico, according to PowerOutage.us.
Blizzard conditions have made visibility nearly nonexistent due to blowing snow, according to the weather service.
Clayton and Des Moines, New Mexico, are expected to receive an additional 12 to 20 inches of snow by Friday’s end, the weather service said.
Albuquerque’s weather service office has issued a blizzard warning for San Miguel, Highlands, Harding and Union counties in New Mexico until 8 p.m. local time Thursday.
Emergency blizzard conditions are expected to last through Friday night over Colfax, Union, San Miguel and Harding counties, according to the weather service.
Clayton Municipal Airpark in Union County has seen wind gusts above 30 mph for most of Thursday, with some gusts reaching 45 mph earlier Thursday.
In southeastern Colorado, conditions are not much better. The weather service office in Pueblo has issued a winter storm warning for much of the southeastern corner of the state until 5 a.m. local time on Saturday.
Across northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, many areas have seen 12 inches of snow accumulation, with some locations in Colorado estimated as having received 36 inches over the past three days.
The 24 inches of snow that have fallen in Las Vegas, the seat of New Mexico’s San Miguel County, ties their record for November snowfall as the storm continues to dump snow over the region.
Extreme snowfall amounts are still forecast across northeastern New Mexico and eastern Colorado by the Weather Prediction Center, with wide swaths likely to receive an additional 1 to 2 feet of accumulation.
