Cooler weather, more rain expected

Friday, Jan. 12, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.

Surrounded by spectacular snow-capped mountain peaks and some early morning fog, Southern Nevadans woke up today to cooler than normal temperatures and another threat of afternoon showers after a winter storm moved out.

Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 40s, below normal for this time of year, National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Gorelow said today.

There's a chance of thunderstorms that could bring snow flurries down to 3,500 feet late this afternoon, low enough to brush Summerlin and the Spring Mountain foothills west of Las Vegas, Gorelow said.

When the biggest winter storm in three years swept through the Las Vegas Valley earlier this week, it left up to a foot of new snow on Mount Charleston.

The U.S. Forest Service issued an extreme avalanche warning for Kyle and Lee canyons, especially the Mary Jane Falls area, a popular hiking trail in warmer weather. The road to Lee Canyon was closed Thursday because of accumulated snow, but re-opened today, a Forest Service spokeswoman said.

While weather forecasters expected up to half an inch of rain in the valley, Las Vegas officially received 0.17 inches, according to measurements at McCarran International Airport.

The rainfall was enough to turn city streets slick and cause a few short power outages.

The weekend weather will stay cooler than normal and partly cloudy, Gorelow said.

By Monday another Pacific storm system will have slammed the West Coast, forecasters say, bringing another chance of showers and windy conditions to Southern Nevada.

California coastal cities were drenched this week. Four deaths were blamed on weather-related traffic accidents on Thursday.

The storm that roared south from Alaska on Wednesday dropped more than 4 inches of rain in many California cities and 9 inches in Santa Barbara County.

Most of the storm's punch weakened over the Sierra Nevada before it reached Southern Nevada, Gorelow said.