
Sheila Hyde
Ouch
In case you haven't been outside, it's pretty windy. The National Weather Service has issued a high winds warning in Northern New Mexico until 7 pm. "Remember," the Weather Service says in its advisory: "A High Wind Warning means damaging winds are imminent or highly likely. Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph or gusts of 58 mph or more can lead to property damage."
At least one Santa Fean has experienced just that. A tree was ripped from the ground and pushed over onto a nearby parked car near Grant Avenue. A whole tree. The owner of the vehicle is unknown.
A weather station at the Santa Fe Airport detected the highest gust of the day, 52 mph, according to Todd Shoemake, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.
A high wind watch became a full-blown warning at noon today, and according to meteorologists, will peak in the late afternoon and begin to die down between 4 pm and 6 pm.
"Little bit of blowing dust, and of course some difficulties even driving if you're going on an east-west road," Shoemake tells SFR. "Pretty difficult conditions trying to walk or drive."
Loose items like lawn furniture and trash cans should be brought inside or anchored, as they can blow away or cause property damage.
"If you are driving, brace yourself," he adds. "Make sure you've got two hands firmly on the steering wheel. Those winds can shuffle your vehicle while you're driving."
In English: It's windy as hell, never go outside, kiss your lawn chair goodbye, and, on second thought, start day-drinking and skip this misery altogether.
Let's try again on Friday, Santa Fe.