Story by Dustin Edwards

 New Mexico State University students awoke to snow just days before finals week.

The Las Cruces Sun-News estimated about 1 to 2 inches of snow fell overnight on Thursday, Dec. 3, which remained on the ground until the next morning. NMSU main campus students awoke to no delays or cancellations; however, the Las Cruces Public Schools cancelled school, due to icy road conditions.

Although NMSU did not have a cancellation, many NMSU students did have a chance to enjoy the snow the Las Cruces desert climate rarely produces.

What did you do?

“There was a really big snowball fight outside of the dorms,” said Nathan DeGenevieve, a freshman music business student. “Everybody decided to just come out of their coves and just throw snow at each other.”

DeGenevieve said he estimated more than 40 campus residents participated in a snowball fight.

“I didn’t think it snowed in Las Cruces,” he said, adding that he enjoyed the weather.

Matthew Gruszka, a sophomore mathematics student, said he pulled his snowboard out of his closet.

“I snowboarded at the football stadium until 2 a.m.,” Gruszka said. “I built a jump using a bench. There were a lot of people there. It was awesome.”

NMSU sophomore students JoAnn Martin and Alex Romos said they spent their afternoon on Friday building a snowman in front of Corbett Center.

“I took the wheels and stuff off my skateboard and used the deck to slide around in the snow,” said Garrett Olson, a NMSU sophomore student.

Other students mentioned sledding at night and building snowmen across campus.

A blanket of snow covers the ground near Goddard Hall. (Photo by Dustin Edwards)

It snows in Las Cruces?

For many Las Crucens, the snow accumulation last week was unheard of, and many students said they were surprised to see snow fall in Las Cruces so early in the year.

“I enjoy it,” Olson said. “I don’t get to see it very often. I’ve lived in New Mexico all my life.”