hail
A storm hit Eddy County Tuesday and dropped some huge hail, in some areas as big as half dollars, but it wasn't just the hail that scared people.

Hail pounded the small town of Otis on Tuesday, damaging cars and homes.

"We had a skylight break out on our house, two windows broke," said Steve Walterscheid. "Damaged the cotton, too, that we had planted."

Walterscheid says he had 300 acres of cotton and is looking at thousands of dollars in losses.

In nearby Carlsbad, the winds we so strong they ripped a roof off a business.


Wednesday, as people clean up, they're talking about the scare, not from the storm, but the tornado sirens that were set off Tuesday night.

Fire Chief Richard Lopez is the one who made the call to sound it.

"The report that I received was two-inch hail in Otis, with 60 mph winds," said Lopez.

Lopez said what many people don't know is that the sirens aren't just for tornadoes.

"It's set up for tornado warnings, tornado watch, or severe thunderstorms, severe weather," he said.

Still, it caused panic and confusion among some residents.

"Even though there was a lot of negative opinion on Facebook because of it, the Emergency Management's page on Facebook, it actually worked in the sense that people were aware of the weather," said Lopez.

Emergency officials will be keeping an eye on the weather again Wednesday night, bracing for the worst, but hoping for the best.

"Hopefully, it will just be rain and no hail," said Walterscheid.

There were no reports of any injuries.