Winter storm heads for valley

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Sorry, folks, no autumn this year.

The summer heat that lasted well into October gave way recently to near-freezing nights in the Las Vegas Valley, and now the season's first significant winter-like storm is at our doorstep.

The National Weather Service at McCarran International Airport predicts that "perhaps the first significant rainfall in some time" will hit the valley Wednesday, while 3 inches to a foot of snow blanket the mountains. Below-normal temperatures will accompany the storm.

"We are getting an early taste of our winter pattern," Joe Nemeth, a weather service meteorologist, said today, noting that the "leading edge of clouds" for that storm were filling the skies this morning.

"It seems like there was no autumn in between."

Because the storm has been lingering off the California coast, it has had a chance to soak up a lot of moisture from the Pacific Ocean, unlike recent wind storms that came in from the northern mountains where there were few water sources from which to draw precipitation.

"We could see perhaps the first significant rainfall in some time in the valley tomorrow morning through tomorrow night," Nemeth said. "The (mountain) areas that got snow recently could see 3 to 10 inches, with up to a foot in some locations."

Mount Charleston businesses, which have enjoyed early season success in recent days following the first snowfall Sunday, are ready for more of the same.

"We don't usually get significant snow before Halloween," said Bud Leavitt, graveyard shift bartender at the Mount Charleston Resort. "But business has been great -- full houses."

Leavitt said the temperature early today was 30 degrees under cloudy skies, and there was still some snow on the ground. Chains and snow tires were not required, although he warned that there appeared to be more snow at lower elevations on the mountain.

"The reason we still have what little snow we have is because it got down to 20 degrees at night and the ground got good and cold," Leavitt said, noting that the early snow has been mixed with ice, hail and sleet.

Nemeth said drier and cooler conditions with highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s are predicted for Thursday and Friday, warming to the upper 60s by Saturday. Still, that is below normal for early November, when highs generally are in the low 70s.

Meanwhile, the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada today were blanketed with snow from the front that is expected to hit Las Vegas Wednesday.

A snow advisory was in effect for the Lake Tahoe-Truckee, Calif., area and the east slopes of the central Sierra south to Mammoth Lakes.

The weather service predicted 3-5 inches of snow would fall around Lake Tahoe before the storm system pushed south later today. Up to 10 inches was predicted at the 7,000-foot level and up to a foot over the highest peaks.

Wind gusts up to 70 mph over the ridgetops accompanied the storm.