Snow reaches valley

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001 | 11:42 a.m.

Snowflakes swirled in the air on the western side of the Las Vegas Valley overnight, but the ground was not cold enough for it to accumulate.

The mountains surrounding the valley, however, were a different story, as blowing snow prompted the Nevada Highway Patrol to close Interstate 15 about 8:40 a.m. to southbound traffic, NHP spokesman Alan Davidson said.

Traffic leaving Las Vegas for Southern California was turned back at St. Rose Parkway until it was safe. The interstate reopened at 10:15 a.m., Davidson said.

The ski areas on Mount Charleston, highest peak in the Spring Mountains at 11,919 feet, received 16 to 18 inches of fresh powder, National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Schlott said today.

At the Mount Charleston Lodge, about four inches of the white stuff stuck.

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, where the temperature was 27 degrees at 7:30 a.m., measured three inches of snow.

The temperature in the valley at the same time hovered at 37 degrees, but the wind chill made it feel like 10 degrees, Schlott said.

The last time measurable snow fell in the valley was on Dec. 6, 1998. Between two and three inches piled up on the ground.

After a cloudy, blustery morning today, the skies were to clear as winds from 15 to 25 miles per hour swept in from the northwest. If the thermometer reaches 50 degrees for a high, it won't feel like it, because of the wind chill, Schlott said.

Southern Nevada will get a slight break from winter storms on Friday, but the next system poised over the Pacific Northwest could bring more showers over the weekend, Schlott said.

The weather will remain cold and unsettled until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Then the valley might warm up again, Schlott said, although not into the 70s that the area enjoyed last weekend.