Ice, Cold Cause Delays At Most Borderland Schools

The borderland is still reeling from the season’s first snow storm and record low temperatures. A new record low temperature was set at the El Paso International Airport, where the thermometer registered 18 degrees early Tuesday morning.

The snow and icy conditions that followed forced school, road and several other closures all over El Paso and Las Cruces.

“It was quite a hassle because I live in a slope and the ice was melting, but it’s so cold that it’s going to black ice and the cars were slipping all over the place,” said Victor Licerio, Jr., who was dropping off his child at Park Elementary mid-morning Tuesday.

Parents like Licerio walked their children to school as workers sprayed salt on the sidewalks to reduce slipping hazards.

Most schools in El Paso delayed their start time by two hours to allow temperatures to rise and ice to melt.

Licerio was satisfied with the district’s advance warning, but said Mother Nature just didn’t cooperate.

“The ice didn’t melt enough. We’re still having a lot of problems driving and you know, taking kids to school.”