No wet winter predicted so far

Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001 | 9:36 a.m.

For Southern Nevada residents this year, wintery weather may never come closer than the sight of a distant snow-capped mountain, forecasters say.

Monday night about 10 inches of snow had accumulated at Mount Charleston.

Gabrielle Perez, assistant comptroller of the Mount Charleston Lodge, said the snow at the rustic lodge above the mountain's 8,000-foot level is radiant with holiday cheer.

"It's beautiful and we've got the tree all decorated," she said.

Whether weather patterns stay dry or bring rain to the Las Vegas Valley is a guessing game, one that state climatologist John James will leave to National Weather Service meteorologists predicting day-to-day forecasts.

"What we aren't agreeing on is whether it will be wetter," James said Monday from cold, snow-bound Reno. "I don't know. If I could call it, I could walk on Lake Mead and not sink."

Last month in Las Vegas, the average temperature was nearer 60 degrees than what is normal for this time of year, about 55 degrees, weather service meteorologist Ron McQueen said.

"It's been a no-Nino year," McQueen said, referring to a warming of the Pacific Ocean called El Nino, which can bring storms into Southern Nevada. The last El Nino affected local weather in 1998-99.

"We haven't started winter yet, but it seems more of the same pattern, warm and dry, then a few storms moving through," McQueen said.

From a national perspective, it looks like a typical winter for most of the country, except for the Southwest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"We don't expect a repeat of the record-breaking cold temperatures of November-December of last year, but this winter should be cooler than the warm winters of the late 1990s," said Scott Gudes, NOAA's acting administrator. "Citizens should prepare for the full range of winter weather."

Clerks at the Old Navy story in Henderson on Monday said woolen clothes were selling briskly since last week's cold snap.

At Paddock Swimming Pools store on Stephanie Street, lighted artificial Christmas trees along with rows of reindeer made out of painted twigs outnumbered barbecue grills and pool supplies, the store's staples.

As the weather turns cooler, few people come looking for chlorine for their pools, said Kayle Torres, a Paddock clerk who moved to Las Vegas five months ago from Washington state.

With plenty of rain predicted for the Pacific Northwest, Torres said he is enjoying the warmer, drier weather in Las Vegas. "The weather is great," he said.