By Nancy Caouette

MEXICO CITY (AA) – At least two people were killed when an eleventh winter storm of the season hit Mexico with cold fronts, according to authorities on Thursday.

A forecast of strong winds, low temperature and heavy rain and snow forced authorities to close schools in 8 of the 32 states, leaving more that 1.8 million children without classes.

The national meteorological service said winds could reach 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour).

On Wednesday, a woman died when a tree fell on her car in Guadalajara — the country’s second city. A 27 year-old man was also killed when two trees fell on a basketball court in the southern state of Chiapas.

At least five people were injured — two seriously — after a billboard fell on two cars on a busy road in Toluca — 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Mexico City.

In Mexico City, more than 500 trees, 70 billboards and 36 electricity posts has fallen in the last two days, according to the city’s fire chief.

Officials closed the airport in Durango on Thursday morning due to a “meteorological situation”.

Several families were urged to evacuate their homes in the state of Morelos as rain and snow made the ground unstable.

[Map and flag of Mexico by Jaimiko. Wikimedia public domain]