Bundle up if you plan to join the Farolito Walk on Canyon Road tonight.

The storm that sprinkled about half a foot of snow over Santa Fe on Wednesday should have spun out of New Mexico overnight on its way to create blizzard conditions in the Midwest, National Weather Service meteorologist Brent Wachter said.

But it is leaving cold clarity in its wake.

"It's going to be pretty chilly following this system," Wachter said. "We'll have well-below-normal temperatures, and there is going to be some brisk winds the next couple of days, so it's going to be kind of raw."

Overnight lows are expected to be in the single digits in Santa Fe tonight and Friday night, with estimates of about 9 degrees at the municipal airport southwest of town and as low as 2 degrees on the east side of Santa Fe toward the foothills.

The recent storm brought snow to almost every corner of New Mexico. Wachter said the Sacramento Mountains seemed to get the most moisture out of the system, with Ski Apache reporting an accumulation of about 18 inches overnight Tuesday.

Ski Santa Fe had about 7 inches of fresh powder as of Wednesday afternoon, but ski area manager Joe Turiciano said that probably wouldn't be enough to get the top half of the mountain open in time for today. The resort opened Dec. 11, but only the lower mountain lifts are running.

"We need to see how much we get as the storm progresses," Turiciano said Wednesday. "It's probably going to take a day or two. It takes time to prepare it for skiers. But it's still snowing."

The snow didn't seem to dampen the sprits of holiday shoppers Wednesday afternoon as dozens huddled under the portal in front of the Palace of the Governors, making purchases from vendors swaddled in blankets, jackets and gloves.

"When it's snowy like this, we usually do a good business," said Andrea Fisher, whose pottery shop fronts San Francisco Street. "We tend to be crowded. We have a lot of sales. The only downside is we have to mop the floor." The wintery weather also was a boon for Plaza Bakery owner Fred Libby, who said the last thing his wife said to him when they parted ways Wednesday morning was, "Did you order enough cocoa?" Every seat in the cozy bakery was full Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, across the street, busker Daniel Goodreau huddled in a doorway with his dog while playing a Peruvian flute. "It makes it harder on me," Goodreau said of the weather. "The cold makes my hands hurt."

National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Shy said the next chance for precipitation in the Santa Fe area likely will be early next week when another storm system is expected to move in from the West Coast. "It's probably going to come through New Mexico," Shy said. "But what it's going to do, it's much too soon to tell."

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-1843 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.