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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
UPDATED: Storm Snarls Traffic, Closes Schools in New Mexico
By Sue Major Holmes
Associated Press
A winter storm moving through New Mexico gave many students a get-out-of-school free pass on Wednesday, but created extra work for road crews and police as wet snow caused highway closures and dozens of crashes.
Interstate 40 was closed east of Albuquerque for several hours Wednesday afternoon to give State Police and sheriff's deputies time to clear several accidents caused by the storm that dumped snow from Silver City to Santa Fe.
State Police spokesman Lt. Eric Garcia also reported multiple crashes on I-40 west of Albuquerque, Interstate 25 north of Santa Fe and several other highways.
"It's not something that could be alleviated by shutting down one road. There's multiple vehicle crashes all over the place," Garcia said.
State Transportation Department crews were out plowing, salting and sanding, and highway officials urged motorists to be cautious and slow down.
The National Weather Service said the storm would move north and east across New Mexico and also into the southern mountains through Thursday morning.
The Transportation Department posted advisories for Interstate 25 south of Socorro and in the Truth or Consequences area, Interstate 10 around Lordsburg and roads in the Silver City area and throughout much of northern New Mexico.
Difficult-to-severe driving conditions were listed for I-40 through New Mexico, I-25 from the Albuquerque metro area north and for U.S. 54 between Carrizozo and Corona. I-40 was snow-covered by mid-afternoon from Tucumcari east to the Texas state line.
The weather service issued a winter weather advisory until noon Thursday for much of northern and central New Mexico and into the southwest mountains and the upper Tularosa Valley, saying a mixture of rain and snow falling Wednesday would change to snow as temperatures dropped.
The forecast called for widespread accumulations of 2 to 5 inches at lower elevations and higher amounts in the mountains.
The storm is expected to taper off Thursday.
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