A few months ago thermometers around the country were edging close to the scorching 50 C mark. Conditions are much different today.

Meteorological authorities say cold front no. 10 is in full force, covering parts of several states in a white, snowy blanket.

Parts of Nuevo León located in the Sierra Madre woke up yesterday to temperatures as low as -7 C and a wintry landscape after snow and sleet fell.

The spectacle extended to the mountains around the city of Monterrey, including the nearby Chipinque ecological park and Mitras hill.

The National Water Commission (Conagua) forecast that temperatures will remain below freezing in several parts of the state.

In Chihuahua, the town of Majalca saw snowfall and reported a low temperature of -9 C.

Farther south, temperatures dropped to -3 C in Pinal de Amoles, Querétaro, early this morning and a snowfall affected power lines, leaving several towns without electricity.

In México state, sleet was reported on the Nevado de Toluca volcano, while authorities in Hidalgo suspended all school activities due to the severe cold weather.

Highways linking Mexico City to Toluca, Ajusco, Oaxtepec and Cuernavaca were affected by a thick cover of fog that impeded visibility.

It did not snow on the Gulf coast, but the cold front has caused heavy rainfall in Campeche and Tabasco.

In the former, trees fell during the storm, causing blackouts. The rain was so severe that schools were closed at all levels.

In Tabasco, close to 700 residents of El Alacrán, Cárdenas, were cut off from the rest of the state when a nearby lagoon overflowed. Residents had to use boats to leave town.

The National Meteorological Service (SMN) says the cold front and its intense mass of continental polar air will cause thermometers to continue dropping as the weather phenomenon moves south.

In a statement issued this morning, the SMN forecast temperatures of between 0 and -5 C in the mountainous regions of the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Durango, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, México, Tlaxcala, Puebla and Veracruz.

In the mountains of Baja California, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Mexico City, Morelos and Oaxaca, temperatures are expected to range between 0 and 5 C.

Snow and sleet will continue to fall in mountainous regions in Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí, and in regions located 1,200 meters above sea level in the states of Querétaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, México and Mexico City.

Rain and intense storms are forecast for southern Veracruz, eastern Oaxaca, northern Chiapas, southern Tabasco, central, southern and western Campeche and southern Quintana Roo.

Very strong storms are expected today in Yucatán, while Tamaulipas, Puebla, Michoacán and Guerrero also see stormy weather.

Source: El Universal (sp),  Milenio (sp)