Snow, wind, drifts impeding travel

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Friday's blast of winter left behind slick--and in some places closed--roads across the northwestern half of the state from roughly Lordsburg to Clayton.

While metro Albuquerque has been spared so far, the New Mexico Department of Transportation reports only fair driving conditions on Interstate 40 from the East Mountains to east of Moriarty and on highways north and east of Santa Fe.

Difficult driving conditions were reported on roads surrounding Gallup, around Silver City and Reserve, in the Taos area and from the Jemez Mountains to Chama and toward Farmington.

A second round of snow and rain is forecast for Saturday into Sunday with the National Weather Service forecasting issues on I-40 from Grants west into Arizona and on U.S. Highway 550 from San Ysidro north of Rio Rancho into Colorado.

More from KRQE.com: Winter Resource, Weather and Travel Guide »

On Saturday morning Las Vegas-based NMDOT District 4 released the following update for roads from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains east and a section of I-40 north:

FAIR DRIVING CONDITIONS:

• I-25 mile marker 299 to mile marker 319 (Villanueva to Glorieta).  Road is wet and drying. Crews have plowed, salted, and cindered.

DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS:

• US 64 mile marker 272.5 to mile marker 322 (Taos Canyon to Jct. of NM 505), roads are snow packed and icy. Crews have plowed, salted, and cindered.
• NM 38 mile marker 12.7 to mile marker 29.2 (Bobcat Pass to Eagle Nest), roads are snow packed and icy. Crews have plowed, salted, and cindered.
• NM 105 mile marker 6 to mile marker 9 (Gascon Area), 5-foot drifts, road is passable at this time. Crews will bring in heavier equipment to open up road fully.
• NM 121 mile marker 0 to mile marker 8 (Jct. NM 518 to Chacon), 3- to 5- foot snow drifts, very windy, road is passable from mm 0 to 5 and closed from mm 5 to 8.5. Crews are bring in heavier equipment to open road from mm 5 to 8.5.
• NM 434 mile marker 26 to mile marker 36.5 (Black Lake to Agua Fria), roads are snow packed and icy. Crews have plowed, salted, and cindered.
• NM 434 mile marker 0 to mile marker 26 (Mora to Black Lake), icy in spots, windy. Crews have plowed, salted.
• NM 518 mile marker 0 to mile marker 44.5 (Las Vegas to Holman Hill), icy in spots, windy. Crews have plowed, salted, and cindered.

CLOSED:

• NM 72 closed mile marker 8 to mile marker 36 (Johnson Mesa-Yankee to Folsom) snow packed roads, blowing snow, 2 to 5 inch accumulation. Crews are plowing, salting, and cindering.