Area expecting 2 to 4 inches of snowfall

The Portales and Clovis area is expected to receive about 2 to 4 inches of snow by this morning, according to Accuweather.com, but school and city officials say that is a tale that has been cried one too many times.

According to Accuweather.com Meteorologist Brian Edwards, the snow won't start to fall until early this morning into the afternoon.

"About mid-day it should taper off," Edwards said. "It should be a good six to 10 hour period of a steady light snow."

Officials from the school districts of Clovis and Portales say they won't make any announcement about school closings until this morning.

"We don't make a determination before hand," said Jelayne Curtis, executive assistant to Clovis schools superintendent Terry Myers. "The staff will assess the issue. We will make an announcement when there is weather to assess."

Curtis said since weather is unpredictable, the projected storm can pass right by the area.

She did ask that parents and guardians check the school website Tuesday morning as well as call the central office to check for any recorded message regarding the weather.

She added that she also plans to notify the local media if a decision has been made.

Julie Miller with Portales Municipal Schools says they do not cancel school before they know the severity of the weather either.

"We'll try to make the decision by six in the morning," Miller said. "We wouldn't begin to make a decision now."

Miller said the school has an automated system that will call parents and teachers and she will also make it a point to notify the local media.

Edwards said the cause for this weather is a storm system coming through the Four Corners region.

"You'll see a steady amount of snow in the area as the storm system develops," Edwards said.

He added that with the moisture coming from the Gulf of Mexico, temperatures will be cold enough across eastern New Mexico to be blanketed with snow.

Edwards said temperature lows will be in the 30s early Tuesday and will drop to the 20s on Tuesday night.

"Once you get past that, it looks like it will turn warmer by Wednesday," Edwards said. "(Temperatures) will be back to the middle 50s."

He added that another cold front coming from the north may provide a couple of snow showers to the area on Friday night and Saturday but that's not as promising as today's expected snowfall.

Portales Public Works Director John DeSha said he doesn't expect the area will receive too much snow but says the city has trucks ready in case of an emergency.

DeSha added that residents can sign up to receive phone alerts on the city website about emergency weather information.