Students awoke Tuesday to a winter wonderland … kind of. Some students sat beside bedroom windows with phones in hand awaiting a text from the University communications department confirming class had been canceled.
It never came.
Following a rainstorm late Monday, 1.4 inches of snow fell over the Duke City early Tuesday morning, but didn’t stick.
While snowfall in Albuquerque in early spring is not unheard of, the last few years haven’t produced much precipitation. According to numbers from the National Weather Service, Albuquerque saw no snowfall in all of April and March in 2011. In March 2010 the total came to 0.8 inches, and no snowfall was reported in April.
Student Monique Padilla said she was disappointed with the University’s decision not to cancel class.
“I was actually kind of angry because they’ve canceled school for a lot less snow before,” she said.
Some students the Lobo spoke with were indifferent toward the snowfall, while others were worried about getting to campus safely.
But the chances of a snow day are getting slimmer as the temperature warms up. The temperature Tuesday was an average of 46 degrees, according to the NWS.
The last time UNM closed for a snow day was in December.
In February 2011, New Mexico ran low on natural gas used for heating and power during a week where an Albuquerque record low of 4 degrees for the month of February was set, according to the NWS.
Gov. Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency and asked residents to turn down their thermostats to conserve gas. About 10,000 homes across the state lost power during the week, according to government reports.
The all-time recorded low in Albuquerque was recorded at 17 below zero in Jan. 7, 1971.
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