Heavy snow falls on Las Vegas during November snowstorm

LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) – This week's storm has left the city of Las Vegas at a standstill after parts of town woke up to a foot or more of snow, causing closures and prompting snowplows to work around the clock. "No, I've never seen a snowstorm like this before not here in New Mexico," said Frank Casey, Las Vegas resident.

Weather Information

Some Las Vegas residents saw as much as 17 inches of snow as of midday after a wintry mix moved in overnight. "The snowflakes are small, but the rain is right with it," said Casey.

"I thought there is no way, we woke up and I said look we are in a snow globe," said Erica Chavez, Las Vegas resident.

The storm prompted people to clean out store shelves and caused many residents to go without power for hours."It was about six hours we all kind of just snuggled up under a blanket, you know, warm clothes wearing our gloves lots of body heat," said Chavez.

Las Vegas is projected to see another foot or more of snow. "We have received at least 20 inches of snow at this point," said Las Vegas City Manager Tim Montgomery.

The city said they haven't seen a storm like this in at least 30 years. The biggest issue has been treating and cleaning the roads.

"The roads its difficult because the snowfall is so great. We're having to go through several stages of how we clear the snow itself," said Montgomery.

The city has reached out to an outside agency to help clear the roads. They recommend people stay home as most businesses are closed and more snow is projected to fall through the night. "I would just encourage people to stay home, stay off the roads they are very slick," said Montgomery.

The warming center at Abe Montoya Recreation Center is going to be open around the clock and the city said they will turn into an overnight shelter if needed.