More than 9,600 El Paso Electric customers were without power as of 6 a.m. Friday after powerful winds tore through the borderland overnight, toppling utility poles and trees in neighborhoods concentrated mostly in West El Paso. The outages began during the early morning hours of October 16, 2026, and the utility had targeted a noon restoration deadline for the affected accounts.
The blackout, reported by the El Paso Times, came as El Paso and other listed Texas areas remained under a High Wind Warning until noon MDT Friday, with a blowing dust advisory in effect until 9 a.m. Friday. Photos and videos shared by FitFam El Paso showed downed utility poles and fallen trees scattered across the region as the storm moved through.
The culprit was a strong backdoor cold front accompanied by a surface high-pressure system of about 1045 millibars over the central high plains, according to the National Weather Service. That setup generated a tight pressure gradient and brought strong winds to far West Texas and Southern New Mexico, and forecasters had warned that modeled sustained winds would generally reach 25 to 35 mph, with gusts of 60 mph or higher possible on west mountain slopes.
When Does a Breeze Become a Warning
A High Wind Warning isn't issued lightly. The National Weather Service officially triggers one once sustained winds reach at least 40 mph or gusts hit 58 mph or higher, per criteria outlined by the El Paso Office of Emergency Management, which advises residents to secure loose outdoor items once a warning is active. Residents should also stay away from downed power lines and report damaged electrical equipment to their utility provider.
Friday's forecast called for gusts of 60 mph or higher on west mountain slopes. That same reporting noted that March, April, and May are traditionally the borderland's windiest and driest months. The National Weather Service forecast called for northeast winds and strong gusts on west-facing mountain slopes.
The Outage's Scale
More than 9,600 El Paso Electric customers were without power in the overnight outage.
Cold Air Follows the Wind
Behind the wind came the chill. The borderland was expected to see a sharp drop in temperatures as colder air moved into the region, with forecasts calling for a double-digit plunge on Friday. The El Paso forecast called for 52 degrees by 6 a.m. Friday, falling to 45 degrees by 6 a.m. Saturday, and overnight lows could dip into the 40s during the early weekend hours.
The National Weather Service warned that high-profile vehicles — trucks, SUVs, and recreational vehicles — can be harder to control during strong wind gusts, and urged residents to use caution while traveling and to secure loose outdoor items. The combination of strong winds, blowing dust, and falling temperatures threatened to make the start of the weekend both chilly and potentially hazardous.
El Paso residents can monitor ongoing outages and estimated restoration times through the El Paso Electric website. It remains unclear whether specific high-voltage distribution lines or mountain-slope poles failed outright during the overnight gusts, and whether the utility met its targeted noon Friday restoration deadline for all affected customers.
