Roswell, New Mexico is most known for the famous UFO crash in July of 1947 on the Mac Brazel's ranch northwest of the town. And of course, the world-famous UFO Museum in town that attracts over 220,000 people a year.
Multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms produced catastrophic and historical flash flooding in Roswell, New Mexico Saturday night, October 19, 2024. As of Sunday media reports claim that only two lives have been lost (so far) with 309 people being rescued, with 38 of those treated at local hospitals for injuries. Many of us who live in southeastern New Mexico believe these numbers may be higher than what is being reported. An unknown number of people were reported missing in the flash flooding.
Hundreds if not thousands of vehicles, homes, and businesses were flooded. High water rescues occurred all over the Roswell, Midway, Dexter, and Hagerman areas from Saturday night into Sunday. Every home in Dexter was reported to have been flooded. People were trapped in their flooded vehicles, their homes, in their attics, on the roofs of their homes, and on the roof of the Civic Center. So many 911 calls for help were received that the system was overwhelmed. Callers were told to leave a message and help would arrive when they could get to them. Schools have been closed and businesses shut down, those that weren’t destroyed.
The southeastern New Mexico plains are a high desert with a Steppe climate. Our long-term (100+ years) rainfall average is 12”. Up until Saturday night Roswell had only recorded 6.37” of rainfall, the normal year-to-date is 10.37”. When 6” to 12” of rain falls in a couple of hours on this countryside, a disaster unfolds, and that’s exactly what happened. We’ve been in a bad drought for the past couple of years and this rain did not soak into the ground, it ran off in torrents of flood waters. We have a long history of flash flooding in this neck of the woods so flash floods are not uncommon. The magnitude and intensity of this flash flood however is way off the charts!
US Hwy 285 between Roswell and Artesia remains closed due to flood waters damaging the Rio Felix bridge which spans over the normally dry Rio Felix Arroyo. Portions of State Highway #2 between Dexter and Hagerman remain closed due to flood waters and damages. This is causing a travel nightmare between Roswell and Artesia. Other local roads remain closed due to pavement washouts and damage.
Some people are blaming HAARP and weather modification. I will tell you straight up that I have no actual proof that this happened to Roswell Saturday night. But like many, I have a lot of questions. If this is what happened to Rowell then did our own government do it? Or was it China or Russia? Juan O’ Savin and others claim that the powers to be have in their control, advanced weapons that we’ve never heard of, and these weapons are far beyond the abilities of HAARP. Were these weapons used against Roswell? If so why? Or did Roswell simply suffer the wrath of Mother Nature? Or as some may believe the wrath of God?
No matter what the cause thousands of lives have just been drastically affected and will change forever because of what they just experienced. Their lives will never be the same. The damages and economic losses will be in the millions. My heart breaks for them and they have my prayers.
Roswell Flooding Aftermath October 20, 2024
Last night’s storm was absolutely devastating for the citizens of Roswell. Today, I spent time walking through downtown with Cristina Arnold and other friends, and the destruction was heartbreaking. So much of the city has flooded, and I only made it through downtown. Homes of friends and co-workers were flooded and destroyed. One family I know narrowly survived when their vehicle was carried away by the flood, and they had to be rescued by emergency personnel this morning. They were trapped in the freezing water from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m.
Others spent the night in waterlogged homes or stranded on rooftops, like at the Civic Center, just trying to survive. I heard countless stories of neighbors saving neighbors, but it was shocking to see cars tossed around like Matchbox toys and the roads torn apart. Concrete and asphalt floated away, and the Spring River’s retaining walls—built to withstand floods since WWII—were completely destroyed, leaving homes along the river vulnerable to further damage. As I walked, I saw many American flags people had pulled out of the debris hanging on fences, others that we saved and put back up.
An Eagle Scout from Troop 2 was collecting them for a proper retirement ceremony, and I held on to a couple myself for when we can properly honor them. My heart broke when I saw what happened to the Scout hut of Troop 2, where my husband, John, earned his Eagle and later served as Scoutmaster. A wall of the hut had washed away, and so much of the troop’s long history, going back to 1916, was lost. But in the face of this devastation, I’m incredibly proud of how our city has come together. Xcel Energy, NM Gas Company and City workers were out in force, from to the Roswell Fire and Police Departments, who searched vehicles as the water receded. City Utility Workers, Sanitation, Solid Waste—every department was working to clean up and repair our city. Thank you to the New Mexico National Guard for helping save so many citizens.
The Roswell Fire Department was combing through cars as they became visible as the water receded, and the Police were making sure there were no more casualties. Special thanks to Chad Cole, Mike Mathews, Karen Sanders, and the entire Roswell team for their quick response. The level of destruction is staggering; some homes had five to six feet of water in them, with no flood insurance to help. Roswell has lost so much infrastructure, and recovery will take years. I pray we receive the government assistance we need, but I know Roswellites—just like Appalachian communities—will come together to help one another long before that. This storm may have broken things, but it hasn’t broken our spirit. Let's continue to help and support each other through this recovery. #roswell #roswellnm #flood #newmexico #devastation
The official National Weather Service climatology records in Roswell started in 1893.
This Weather Underground Personal Weather Station (PWS) measured 10.76” of rainfall as of midnight Saturday night. Another .05” fell after midnight producing a storm total of 10.81”. Another PWS located on west 2nd street in downtown Roswell showed over 7.50” of rain before it quit reporting. Widespread measured rainfall totals in Roswell of 4” to 6” were common with a few PWS, and CoCoRaHS stations reporting 7” to nearly 11”. One public rainfall total of 12” in Roswell was reported.
This National Weather Service MRMS rainfall total graphic is flat-out wrong. This radar has a long history of failing and problems so this may be the case here. This image is based on the Cannon Air Force Base Radar located near Clovis, New Mexico. Given the known reported rainfall totals in Roswell, you can double or even triple the rainfall totals in this image. The GRLevel3 rainfall estimates obtained from the Cannon AFB radar (KFDX) Saturday night, that fell southwest of Roswell along the Rio Felix watershed, were estimated to be 9” to 10”. What this graphic depicts is the storm tracks of training thunderstorms (some severe) Saturday night. One storm after another moved from the southwest to the northeast into Roswell producing multiple rounds of thunderstorms with excessive rainfall in the city. Extremely unusual.
Roswell, NM Flooding October 20, 2024
graphmaster Oct 20, 2014.
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