Winter Storm Iola Closes Schools in New Mexico, Texas; Snow Closes Part of Interstate 10

Winter Storm Iola brought heavy snowfall to the Southern Plains Thursday after developing in Colorado and New Mexico Tuesday night. The storm closed schools in multiple states and left a layer of snow, rain and ice on roadways.

"Snow from Iola will be mainly focused on western Texas and New Mexico on Thursday," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. "A narrow zone of mixed rain and snow may target the mid-South on Friday before the storm heads for the Northeast by Saturday."

This weekend, Iola is also expected to lay down a blanket of snow in the Northeast, a week after an ice storm snarled traffic in the region and killed at least 4 people.

(WINTER STORM IOLA: South Forecast | Northeast Forecast)

Here are the latest impacts in each of the states affected by Iola.

Texas

Schools, universities and government offices from the El Paso to Midland-Odessa, San Angelo and Big Bend areas announced delayed openings for Friday, the Associated Press said. 

El Paso closed government offices early on Thursday due to the snowfall, the Associated Press also reported. 

The Texas Department of Transportation asked residents to stay home Thursday morning due to poor road conditions created by Iola's snow and ice. However, no roads are closed at this time, according to a press release by the department.

As much as 13 inches of snow fell in areas near Amarillo as the Texas Panhandle got clobbered by the effects of Iola. As a result, many Amarillo-area schools were closed Thursday, according to News Channel 10.

Schools in El Paso were dismissed early Thursday afternoon, the city's school district announced.

Shelters were opened Wednesday night in several areas around Amarillo to house those who were unable to get inside otherwise, and authorities were driving around town to look for people to bring in, according to ConnectAmarillo.com.

In the month of January, Amarillo has received more snow than Juneau, Alaska, Boston and St. Louis combined, according to the National Weather Service-St. Louis office.

The Texas DOT began preparing for icy roadways on Wednesday by applying pretreatment, News Channel 10 reports.

Oklahoma

In the Panhandle, Cimarron and Texas counties were reporting slick spots on roadways Thursday morning, according to NewsOK.com. Crews were monitoring bridges and overpasses, prepared to take action if they froze, the report added.

"Fortunately, we've had some pretty good ground temperatures lately, but (crews) are still out there clearing the roads and treating with salt and sand," said Mills Gotcher, spokesperson for the Oklahoma DOT, in a Thursday morning interview with The Weather Channel.

New Mexico

New Mexico State Police officer Michael Wheeler was injured Wednesday night after a vehicle traveling on westbound I-40 rear-ended his patrol car, KOB-TV reported. Wheeler was assisting a motorist on the side of the road during the snowstorm, and he sustained head injuries. Wheeler was released from Guadalupe County Hospital in Santa Rosa Thursday morning. 

The New Mexico Department of Transportation reported difficult driving conditions on multiple highways and interstates in New Mexico Thursday afternoon, with conditions ranging from snow-packed to icy, KRQE-TV reported. 

The NMDOT said the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 were shut down just west of Las Cruces in southern New Mexico Thursday morning due to "severe winter weather conditions." One Twitter user posted a photo of the backup:

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 were also closed late Thursday morning due to a crash about 55 miles west of Albuquerque. It was not immediately clear whether the crash was weather-related.

A 30-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 82 between Cloudcroft and Mayhill was also closed to to the snowy conditions. Many roads in south-central New Mexico were reported as snow packed and icy with poor visibility late Thursday morning.

More than 90 schools in New Mexico started late, got off early or were closed Thursday due to the storm, KOAT-TV reported. 

In northeastern New Mexico, Iola caused one road closure and created difficult driving conditions throughout the state, according to the New Mexico DOT.

"We're not seeing a lot of delays, but we are seeing really bad road conditions around the state," said Melissa Dosher, spokesperson for the New Mexico DOT, in a Thursday morning interview with The Weather Channel.

More than a foot of snow has fallen in parts of New Mexico from Iola, with the highest totals being reported near Edgewood, Sedillo and Angel Fire.