Cold spell brings snow to Las Vegas

Sunday, Dec. 6, 1998 | 2:08 a.m.

Las Vegas residents woke Sunday morning to a blanket of snow courtesy of a cold front that brought frigid temperatures across the state.

By 8 a.m. snow coated yards and buildings. The light snowfall was responsible for a number of minor accidents. A section of U.S. 95 near Downtown Las Vegas was closed briefly.

Northern Nevadans reached for extra blankets early Saturday as a cold spell sent the mercury below zero across much of the region.

Ruth, located near Ely 320 miles east of Reno, was the state's cold spot with minus-17 overnight. Wells followed with minus-11, McDermitt minus-10, Winnemucca minus-9 and Ely minus-8.

Elsewhere, Eureka, Jackpot and South Lake Tahoe, Calif., each checked in at minus-5, Elko and Battle Mountain each minus-4, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., minus-2 and Gerlach minus-1.

Overnight lows in Reno and Carson City were warmer - 15 degrees and 12 degrees respectively - but still well below seasonal norms. The overnight low in Las Vegas was 44.

Rudy Cruz of the National Weather Service said no record low temperatures for the date were set despite the frigid temperatures.

Winnemucca came the closest as it missed the record minus-10 set in 1972 by just one degree.

Ely came within six degrees of the record minus-14 set in 1972, while Elko fell 12 degrees short of its record minus-16 set in 1931.

The weather service was calling for temperatures to warm up by 5-10 degrees early Sunday and to reach the teens by later in the week.

Cruz blamed Saturday's below-zero temperatures on a cold front and clear skies.

"Clear skies allowed the daytime heating to escape and the overnight lows to drop to below zero," he said. "Clouds trap in the heat."