Nearly 6 inches of snow fall

Most of eastern New Mexico awoke to about 6 inches of snow on Tuesday, the first significant moisture in months.

Several area schools closed or went to remote learning, and most government offices delayed opening or closed due to the weather.

Dan Heerding, Clovis' emergency management director, said road crews were still "working diligently" to clear roads late Tuesday morning.

"The ground was warm so it's a slushy, heavy snow," Heerding said. "The sun is coming out so that will help."

Heerding said he'd heard about a couple of "fender benders" on U.S. 70 between Clovis and Portales but no fatalities were immediately reported.

"Our citizens are doing their due diligence (driving cautiously) and that's nice," Heerding said.

Akash Bajagain, a senior research assistant at the New Mexico Agricultural Science Center, said the ag center north of Clovis received 6.5 inches of snow Tuesday morning. That equates to about .33 inches of moisture, he said.

The region hasn't seen that much moisture in a single day since October, though a Thanksgiving storm left about 4/10ths of moisture over two days.

Forecasters said the snow was expected to clear out by today and the rest of the week appears mostly dry.

Frigid temperatures that came with the snow are expected to hang around into the weekend. Highs in the 30s and low 40s are expected today through Friday with lows in the teens each night.