The snow that started falling midmorning in the City Different on Wednesday effectively shut down a lot of activity by midafternoon and prompted Santa Fe Public Schools to issue a two-hour delay for the start of classes today.

Drivers crept along at half the speed limit on Santa Fe's major arterials, wheels slipping as they tried to get traction on pavement slickened by the latest in a series of winter storms.

The storm tracked in a wide swath from southwestern New Mexico to the northeast, dropping rain and snow across much of the state. It was expected to move out of the state by today. Forecasters predict partly cloudy skies with a chance of snow or rain in the Santa Fe area through the weekend.

By 11:35 a.m. Wednesday, local law enforcement agencies were urging drivers to slow down because of accidents on icy Interstate 25, U.S. 84/285 and city streets.

Santa Fe Public Schools conducted classes as usual Wednesday but canceled all evening athletic events. The city and county sent staff home by 3 p.m., as did state agencies for employees working in Santa Fe. Various public meetings were canceled, and the Santa Fe Trails city bus system reduced runs in the early evening and stopped running after 8 p.m. because of road conditions.

Three to 5 inches of snow were reported in portions of the city by 5 p.m.

The city announced all recreation facilities today will open two hours later than usual, at 8 a.m., because of icy conditions.

Elsewhere, Pecos and Las Vegas, N.M., closed their public schools because of the snow. Interstate 25 from Santa Fe in both directions was snow-packed, with low visibility, through much of the afternoon.

Interstate 40 was shut down east of Albuquerque for several hours Wednesday afternoon to give state police and sheriff's deputies time to clear several accidents caused by the storm, which dumped snow from Silver City to Santa Fe.

State police by 5 p.m. Wednesday had investigated 80 crashes, most on I-25 and I-40. They reported 17 crashes around Santa Fe County, but only two with injuries. One crash near Las Vegas involved a fatality. The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department reported many minor accidents, mostly "fender benders."

Ski Santa Fe reported 5 inches of snow from the latest storm, bringing its total base to 70 inches.

The storm brought "wet" snow, heavy with moisture, which is typical of February weather events, said Ed Polasko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

The last three weeks of snowstorms have left a little better than average snowpack in the northern mountains for this time of year. The Santa Fe snow telemetry site in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains had a 42-inch snow depth by Wednesday. The snow's water content, if melted down, is about 10.7 inches, ahead of last year's figure and about 123 percent of the 30-year average.

Rio en Medio reported a 27-inch snow depth, with 7.5 inches of water content, the same as last year.

The water content of snow is the measurement that matters to water managers and irrigators wondering how much water will flow off the mountains into rivers and seep down into aquifers in the spring.

The El Niño weather phenomenon at play this winter has brought an even healthier snowpack to the south. Snow depth at the Sierra Blanca site measured 64 inches, with almost 20 inches of water content, twice the average.

Typically, February is the state's best snow month, Polasko said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.