Snow closures lifted on I-25, I-40

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The calendar on Saturday will say it's spring, but a stubborn blast of winter will still have New Mexico in its grip.

The storm that blew in beginning Friday morning spread south from the high country of Colorado and by Friday evening had made travel dicey in the north and shut down 110 miles of Interstate 40 from Tramway Boulevard in Albuquerque east to Santa Rosa.

(Update 10:45 a.m. Saturday: Closures of Interstates 25 and 40 have ended. However traffic backups have yet to clear, and roadways in many areas remain snowpacked and slick requiring extra caution and much-reduced speeds.)

By early Saturday morning I-40 east remained closed at Albuquerque with westbound traffic stopped at Tucumcari due to the number of stranded motorists farther west. Emergency shelters had been opened in Moriarty Friday night.

At about 9 a.m. Saturday State Police began escorting motorists from Moriarty eastbound on I-40 although the westbound lanes remained closed. NMDOT described driving conditions on I-40 east of Clines Corners as "severe" with lanes snowpacked and icy with patches of black ice.

Officers also were letting eastbound traffic leave Albuquerue in small increments due to the still-difficult road conditions and the accumulated traffic still backed up farther east. State Police were still discouraging travel on I-40.

North of Albuquerque sheriff's deputies in Sandoval County closed northbound Interstate 25 at Bernalillo. Numerous accidents and a jackknifed semi were reported between Bernalillo and San Felipe.

Officers had called for New Mexico Department of Transportation sanding trucks although it was not known when they would arrive. The southbound lanes of I-25 from Santa Fe to Bernalillo remained open but slick with weather-related accidents reported in the area of the La Bajada grade as well.

U.S. Highway 550 northwest of Bernalillo and Rio Rancho also was reported to be snowpacked and icy with officers and medics responding to weather-related crashes.

And Albuquerque itself took a direct hit Saturday morning shutting down I-25 on either side of the I-40 interchange from Lomas to Paseo del Norte for a while. Weather radar showed the storm that pasted Albuquerque continuing to track south along I-25 in Valencia County.

As of 10 a.m.the only full closures being reported by NMDOT were I-40 westbound from Tucumcari to Albuquerque and I-25 northbound at Bernalillo. Other roads remained open if treacherous.

Difficult to severe driving conditions were being reported across northern, northeastern, north-central and eastern counties and in the Silver City area where State Road 211 has been closed by flooding.

The first closure announced at about 6:30 p.m. involved only the eastbound lanes with reports of jackknifed semis in the area of Clines Corners where I-40 intersects U.S. Highway 285.

On the last day of winter a serious storm punched into New Mexico making driving dangerous and putting an end to spring-like temperatures.

Late Friday NMDOT was reporting difficult driving conditions spread over 160 miles of Interstate 25 from Glorieta to Raton Pass. Snowfall ranged from moderate to heavy with the pavement anywhere from slushy to snowpacked.

Earlier in the afternoon New Mexico State Police were reporting deteriorating conditions on roads in the Santa Fe area. Several collisions related to the weather had occurred with two of them involving injuries, State Police Lt. Eric Garcia said.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office also reported its officers were responding to numerous weather-related calls on U.S. Highway 285.

State crews were out plowing and sanding in numerous areas, and motorists were being advised to use extra caution if they had to travel.

The storm was forecast to spread south and east through Friday and into Saturday leaving snow and frigid temperatures in its wake.

For the latest forecast and weather alerts plus information on road closures and storm-related closures and cancelation visit the KRQE.com Weather section .