Wind gusts top 60 mph as cold front hits from north

Monday, Dec. 15, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

Black clouds darkened the Las Vegas sky Sunday, but wind was the main feature of the vigorous cold front that buffeted the valley by evening.

It blew down power lines and trees including a large one that went down at Eastern Avenue and Patrick Lane.

Sunday's winds featured sustained breezes of up to 25 mph, but the highest gust recorded at McCarran International Airport was nearly twice that, 48 mph recorded shortly after 5 p.m., National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Schlott said.

An unofficial gust of 66 mph blasted Warm Springs Road during the storm, he said.

In the Spring Mountains west of Las Vegas, more snow fell. Above 7,500 feet, between 3 and 4 inches fell, and on Mount Charleston at least 6 inches of new snow arrived before the storm cleared.

Sunday's storm had left Southern Nevada and arrived in Utah by 7 p.m.

Thunderstorm cells formed northwest of the valley, but did not arrive in metropolitan Las Vegas.

While Sunday's high temperature reached 60 degrees before the winds and showers moved in and stopped the warming trend, today's forecast is a different story.

"It's going to be really chilly," Schlott said.

The expected high for Monday was 54 degrees, Schlott said. That's because winds of up to 25 mph were expected to blow from the north through this morning.

The airport's rain gauge recorded 0.01 of an inch for the official rainfall total for Sunday, Schlott said.

"That's just somebody spitting out there," Schlott said.

No rain or snow is expected in the area this week, he said.

The weather pattern is expected to keep daytime highs in the 50s and lows at night in the 30s.