Snow scarce at UNM, but snow day declared

While flurries dusted UNM campus, as much as 6 inches of snow fell on other parts of the metro area beginning Sunday night and continuing into Monday.

UNM spokeswoman Cinnamon Blair said representatives from the University President’s Office and UNMPD consult police in the metro area and around the state about road conditions to make a decision on whether to close the University.

“We have the UNMPD officer commanders confer with Rio Rancho police and Albuquerque Police Department,” she said. “They discuss the road conditions across the city and make a decision. Since CNM and APS both decided to close, that also factored into the decision that was made.”

UNM spokeswoman Karen Wentworth said the University’s primary concern is the safety of its students, staff and faculty.

“It’s important to UNM that all our students are able to arrive safely and attend class safely, and that is why we called a snow day,” Wentworth said. “We try to track with APS: one of the big considerations is that it is inconvenient for people with children to have class if their children don’t.”

Blair said some employees are still required to go to work. UNMPD, University Hospital, and UNM’s Physical Plant Department remain open during snow days.

“They have to stay open in case anything happens, and they also provide for students,” she said.

The storm late Sunday night and early Monday morning brought temperatures in some parts of Albuquerque down to 2 degrees Fahrenheit, and parts of Rio Rancho and the North East Heights received nearly 6 inches of snow according to the National Weather Service. The storm is expected to dissipate today, but temperatures are expected to stay below freezing throughout the day Wednesday.

Monday’s estimated snowfall
Campus: 1.9 inches
Foothills: 3.2 inches
Westside/Rio Rancho: 4.1 inches
Los Lunas/Belen: 6.9 inches
Tijeras: 2.8 inches
According to theweatherchannel.com