Schools, LANL, County On Two Hour Delay, Roads Difficult

Los Alamos Public School Superintendent Dr. Gene Schmidt has announced that all elementary schools as well as the middle school and high school are on a delayed schedule due to snow and will open at 10 a.m. today.

Los Alamos National Laboratory also is on a delayed schedule today. Employees in the Los Alamos area are to arrive at 10 a.m. and all other employees are to arrive at 10:45 a.m., to give snow removal crews time to clear roadways, parking lots and sidewalks.
Los Alamos County government is on a two hour delay this morning as well with a 10 a.m. start time for all County offices.

Nation Weather Service Has Issued A Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 447 A.M. FRIDAY JAN. 30, 2015

...HEAVY SNOW EVENT CONTINUES FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO THROUGH SATURDAY...

A SLOW MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WITH MOIST SUBTROPICAL AIR AHEAD OF IT WILL INTERACT WITH A COOLER LOW LEVEL AIR MASS TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT.

SIGNIFICANT SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE MOUNTAINS...WITH MORE THAN A FOOT OF NOW POSSIBLE ABOVE 9,000 FEET. A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW IS EXPECTED AT LOWER ELEVATIONS DUE TO A THIN WARM LAYER NEAR THE SURFACE. BRIEF BOUTS OF SLEET ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS. PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY BEFORE SLOWLY DIMINISHING.

JEMEZ MOUNTAINS-NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS-SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS- WEST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9,500 FEET/RED RIVER-SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9,500 FEET-EAST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-LOWER CHAMA RIVER VALLEY-SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-ESTANCIA VALLEY-CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS-GUADALUPE COUNTY-447 AM MST FRI JAN 30 2015

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM SATURDAY
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...EXPECT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 3 TO 6 INCHES BELOW 7,500 FEET AND 6 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 7,500 FEET. THE HGHEST ELEVATIONS WILL SEE ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 12 AND 16 INCHES. GUADALUPE COUNTY WILL SEE A WIDE RANGE IN SNOW TOTALS WITH 1 TO 5 INCHES POSSIBLE FROM EAST TO WEST.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL INCREASE IN INTENSITY TODAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY ON SATURDAY.

* WINDS...NO SIGNIFICANT WINDS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM SYSTEM.
* SNOW LEVELS...SNOW LEVELS WILL FLUCTUATE BETWEEN 5000 AND 6,500 FEET DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY. MOUNTAIN LOCALES CAN EXPECT MOSTLY SNOW.
* LOCAL IMPACTS...HEAVY WET SNOW WILL ACCUMULATE ON ROADWAYS... ESPECIALLY IF SNOW RATES ARE HIGH. WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY ABOVE 7,500 FEET.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL ... KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT ... FOOD ... AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.