Daily Skiff

Media Credit: Andrew Chavez Students play during a snow day on Thursday. Classes were dismissed at 2 p.m. because of winter weather. [Click to enlarge]

A late-season cold front carrying a frozen wintry mix blew through the Metroplex area causing the campus to close, and the front is expected to finish passing through by this afternoon. The National Weather Service predicted 3 to 5 inches of snowfall from Thursday afternoon through this morning. This was the second time this week at least an inch of snowfall came down in Fort Worth. The last time there were two March days with that much accumulation of snow was in 1942.

"If we get the amounts that are being predicted it would be very uncommon, not just for the area, but for this time of year," said Tim Barry, a NWS meteorologist. "It's not uncommon to see snow in D/FW, but this amount would be."

Barry said the bands of snow and wintry weather are expected to accumulate on the ground, but the negligible snowfall Thursday night will keep more substantial snow from accumulating.

The wintry mix coincides with the dismissal of students for Spring Break.

See photos from the snow day

Michael Slattery, director of the Institute of Environmental Studies and professor of weather and climate, said students' traveling plans shouldn't be too affected by the weather.

"I don't think it's going to make much of a difference, but it depends on what the temperature does," Slattery said, "It's just going to slow things down I think."

However, Barry advised students not to travel in poor weather in the coming days.

"Traveling is going to be very treacherous," Barry said. "Unless it's an emergency, we are advising people not to drive in this."

Forecasts at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport did not indicate delays for today, but winds and ice caused flight delays Thursday evening.

Tiffany Fowler, a freshman advertising/public relations major, is leaving for Acapulco on Saturday morning, and said she hopes the weather clears up by then, but she isn't too worried about it.

"I'm from Colorado, so this is nothing," Fowler said.

Multimedia editor Marcus Murphree contributed to this report.

Watch video from the snow day

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