Rowdy weather pummels metro Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Pounding storms beat up metro Albuquerque Tuesday evening with flooding rains and a likely lightning strike that felled a chimney at an industrial site.

Arroyos and storm channels ran fast and full although neither injuries nor rescues were reported. The presumed lightning strike, however, did for employees to evacuate their building.

Rain totals about 2 inches in the Albuquerque foothills spawn a spectacular runoff that brought residents out for a look.

With rainwater from the foothills channeling into Albuquerque's arroyos...and spilling onto cross streets... Local residents took in the spectacle.

"It's almost like Niagara Falls," Tony Yotter said. "The force of it is incredible.

"Something I haven't seen in a long time here in Albuquerque, I can tell you that."

Raymond White tried to quantify the volume of water rushing by.

"I imagine your bathtub is 40 gallons," he said. "Imagine how many bathtubs are right there moving at 40, 50 miles an hour."

The Albuquerque Fire Department rushed to the industrial facility in the 9000 block of San Mateo Boulevard NE to find a metal chimney buckled and smoldering.

"We're looking at a possible lightning strike as the cause right now" Brian Levie of AFD said. "Seems to leaning that way because there's nothing to indicate any other cause or origin underneath the stack."

The building was evacuated as a precaution.

PNM reported about 80 customers lost power near Sandia Park probably because of the weather. A spokesperson said the power went around 6 p.m. and was not expected to be restored until 11 p.m.

During heavy rains AFD always has swiftwater rescue teams standing by on the east side of the city so they're in position if someone is swept away. However on Tuesday evening there was so much rain crews on the west side were mobilized as well.