Record cold grips state of Nevada

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002 | 11:29 a.m.

Nevada is in the grip of its most bitter cold spell in well over a year. Some places have never been this cold.

Wells set the frigid pace on Wednesday with a low of minus 27, breaking its previous low of minus 25 set in 1957. Eureka, which set a record on Tuesday with 18 below, set another one Wednesday with minus 25. That was far below its old Jan. 30 mark of minus 12, also set in 1957.

Ely's 25 below was a record for the date and was just 2 degrees shy of its January record of minus 27. It was 21 below in Ely on Jan. 30 1980. Elko stopped at minus 19, but the thermometer at nearby Spring Creek High School kept going to 27 below.

Reno chilled to 2 above just before daybreak, as did Winnemucca and Lovelock. It was 5 above in Tonopah and plus 8 in Fallon.

In the Sierra, South Lake Tahoe fell to minus 12 and Truckee, to 7 below.

Even normally mild Las Vegas came within 2 degrees of freezing, although the 1-3 inches of snow forecast to cover the valley floor never materialized. A few scattered spots got up to an inch, according to National Weather Service meteorologist John Adair.

Thursday morning lows should moderate slightly from Wednesdays, although numbing cold will continue.

"Low temperatures tonight will be tricky as cloud cover will play a significant role in the weather pattern," forecaster Brian Fehrn said on Wednesday.

"Temperatures will be warmer but most readings will still be below zero in areas with snow cover. The question is how much below zero."

Western Nevada will again have lows in the single digits to the low teens while the south can expect readings in the 20s with Mt. Charleston dipping to single digits.