By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

Virtually every school in the area is closed today, with the exception of Fort Hays State University.

But youngsters might not be able to enjoy the snow for a few days because of the bitter cold.

According to the National Weather Service in Dodge City, between 7 and 9 inches of snow fell in the Hays area Tuesday.

The Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center reported 8.5 total inches in Hays during this week's storm.

With that came frigid temperatures that dipped to near zero degrees; the overnight low reported was 3 degrees, with a wind chill of minus 28 degrees.

And today's high is expected to be no more than 10 degrees.

FHSU did close Tuesday afternoon but was back open for business, and classes, this morning.

"We were fine (Tuesday) until we heard the winds were going to pick up and start drifting," said Edard Hammond, FHSU president. "So we let people go home early, and our (maintenance) crews were out at about 2 this morning getting things cleared for today."

City crews also have been busy clearing streets since early Tuesday morning.

John Braun, assistant director of public works for the city of Hays, said his crews are working round the clock on 12-hour shifts and have kept at it non-stop despite drifts from high winds.

"We keep clearing the emergency snow routes no matter what, because we don't want to be behind the eight ball if there's a fire or some other kind of emergency," Braun said.

While numerous vehicles became stuck in the snow, Hays Police Chief Jim Braun said there wasn't a single accident reported in the city in the last 24 hours.

"I asked dispatch this morning if I was missing something because I didn't see any accident reports," Jim Braun said this morning.

"I guess that's a sign of people driving safer," he said. "Hats off to the public. They're either staying at home or taking it a little slower."

John Braun, Jim Braun's younger brother, said his crews indeed have seen a lot of "good neighbors."

"You see people hopping out and pushing cars out of the snow," John Braun said. "If people can get to the snow routes, they can get around. But some are getting stuck on the side streets and alleys."

"The low (temperature) for overnight tonight is a minus 10," he said. "And we won't see anything reasonable until the weekend. After today, the winds will die down, and that will be good. But this is just a very cold air mass."