A winter storm made for a shorter school day around Santa Fe on Monday, causing delays and early releases and leading to a two-hour delay for Santa Fe schools on Tuesday.

As snow continued to fall throughout the day, drivers across the state were slowed or trapped by blowing snow, closed roads and icy conditions.

Record or near record lows were predicted Monday night for much of the state, with freezing temperatures to continue through Tuesday.

The snow began early Monday morning and continued throughout the day in much of the state. Most Santa Fe schools, both public and private, started on time but had released students by noon. Many other school districts, from Los Alamos to Rio Rancho, were closed.

State employees in Santa Fe and Albuquerque were on a two-hour morning delay, and many were released to go home at 3 p.m. Several city and state meetings or hearings were canceled, and recreation centers closed early.

Portions of Interstate 40 east and west of Albuquerque, parts of Interstate 25 south of Socorro and Interstate 10 near Las Cruces were closed for a portion of the day.

Several tractor-trailers jackknifed on a section of Interstate 25 south of Socorro. State officials opened the New Mexico State Fairgrounds in Albuquerque for truckers stranded by the highway closures.

Julia Pardue, a front desk attendant at the Super 8 hotel in Grants, said a number of stranded motorists got rooms for the rest of the day after Interstate 40 was closed rather than wait for the highway to reopen.

"A lot of people just didn't want to be on the roads," she said.

Road trouble continued into the evening as slick roads iced up in record or near record cold. State police reported several accidents on Interstate 10 between Las Cruces and Deming, with an eight- to 10-car pileup reported at one site.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday, the National Weather Service in Albuquerque had issued a winter storm warning for most of the state.

Kerry Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said most of the heavy snowfall had ended by Monday afternoon and just around an inch or two was expected throughout most of New Mexico. Jones said residents should expect "bitter cold" weather with temperatures 15 below zero in some parts.

"It's going to be a very cold night across the board," Jones said.

Severe weather even brought snow to Southern New Mexico — a region usually spared the worst of winter blasts. Crews worked to clear snow and salted icy roadways in the region, especially around Lordsburg, Silver City, Socorro, Magdalena and Truth or Consequences.

Jones said temperatures will gradually warm throughout the week.

Associated Press reporter Russell Contreras contributed to this report.

ON THE WEB

• For information on road conditions, visit www.nmroads.com.

• Check The New Mexican's website during storms for live, interactive storm coverage, www.santafenewmexican.com.