Slow-moving storms raise flood threat

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Moisture-laden air spawning heavy rains has prompted a flood watch until 11 p.m. for a large swath of central New Mexico.

The National Weather Service described as at risk an area extending from the southwestern and west-central mountains across Albuquerque and Santa Fe into the northeastern highlands.

With the storms forecast to move slowly, rainfall rates of up to 2 inches an hour are possible in some areas.

Also in the cross hairs are wildfire burn scars from this years Whiewater Baldy Fire and last year's Las Conchas, Wallow and Miller fires.

At midafternoon heavy rain was reported northwest of Santa Fe with a flash flood warning issued for the Cañada Arroyo watershed and drainages running under State Road 502 to the Rio Grande.

That warning was set to expire at 4:30 p.m.

Meanwhile heavy rain was moving into metro Albuquerque from the north spreading from the Sandoval County line south to Interstate 40.

The flood threat from this storm extended from the Sandia Mountains foothills across the valley to Double Eagle II Airport on the West Mesa.

At 4:30 p.m. PNM was reporting scattered power outages in the North Valley and Northeast Heights.  Another outage cut off about 850 customers in the South Valley with PNM estimating power would be restored before 8 p.m.