Snow falls in Boulder City, Searchlight

Cathy Scott

Monday, Dec. 22, 1997 | 10:22 a.m.

Boulder City and Searchlight residents awakened today to a blanket of snow over their cities, three days early for a white Christmas.

Two inches of snow fell overnight in Searchlight, and one inch in Boulder City, said Donald Maker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at McCarran International Airport. About half a foot of snow covered Red Rock Canyon, he said. At Mount Charleston, two inches of snow fell Sunday and two inches overnight, he said.

Snow also fell at Sahara Avenue and Jones Boulevard and other Las Vegas locations, but failed to stick because pre-dawn temperatures were too warm at 44-47 degrees. Highs in the low-50s were expected today in Las Vegas.

A white -- or at least a wet -- Christmas is possible, as a low pressure system has settled into the Las Vegas Valley from Alaska and another is on the way.

The unsettled weather Sunday and today -- the first two official days of winter -- has resulted in gusting northerly winds, cooler temperatures and, in some parts of the valley, sprinklings of snow.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory until 3 p.m. today. The advisory predicted gusting winds from the north at between 30 and 45 mph.

Along with the winds came an air advisory today from the Clark County Health District, which cautioned that winds carrying particles could be hazardous to people with respiratory problems.

Maker said another source of the cold and windy weather is a low-pressure system stalled out over Arizona.

"It's rotating counter clockwise with nothing to push it out," Maker said. "Associated with this system are a lot of clouds, gusty winds and cold air.

"On Christmas, another low pressure system from the North Pacific and Alaska is expected to come in and bring rain and possible snow showers."

Daytime highs on Christmas Day Thursday are expected in the mid-40s, which is about 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year, Maker said.

The temperatures are below normal for the season he said.

"Temperatures are ranging in the upper 40s and low 50s," Maker said. "Normally, they are pretty much in the mid-50s this time of year."

In the valley, snow was expected to continue falling throughout the day at about 4,000 feet, Maker said.

Overnight, a trace of rain fell at the airport, to bring the year-to-date rainfall to 3.84 inches, 0.18 inches below normal. So far this month, just 0.7 of an inch of precipitation has been officially measured at McCarran, Maker said.

The current weather situation is not directly the result of El Nino, the well-publicized worldwide weather phenomenon resulting from a mass of warm Pacific Ocean water. However, Maker said, "there may be some enhancements" caused by El Nino.

On Sunday, strong winds whipped through the valley. A peak gust of 34 mph from the northwest was reported, Maker said.

He noted, however, that today Las Vegas already has experienced a stronger breeze than that, as a 37 mph gust from the north was recorded at 4 a.m.