Wetter weather is still expected

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.

A trace of rain was recorded at McCarran International Airport on Tuesday and another 0.05 of an inch had trickled into the gauge by 7 a.m. today, but the main event is still to come, weather forecasters said.

The storm system pushing into Southern Nevada could drop an inch of rain on Las Vegas before the weekend, National Weather Service forecasters said.

The bulk of the storm's moisture was expected to arrive this afternoon and continue into Thursday morning, meteorologist Larry Jensen said. The forecast includes a 50 percent chance for showers Thursday, and it could include thunderstorms.

This morning's precipitation left the area a little less than an inch shy of the normal rainfall total for the year to date, National Weather Service officials said. And this week's storm won't put a dent in the drought plaguing western states, they said.

The Pacific storm spread clouds and some rain as far east as Southern Nevada on Tuesday. The trace of rain was the first measurable precipitation here since Jan. 8.

January, the warmest on record in Las Vegas, saw only 0.02 of an inch of rainfall, while the average for the month is half an inch.

The storm system moving into the Las Vegas Valley from Southern California could produce up to an inch of rain valleywide and could also drop snow in the Spring Mountains, forecaster Steve Downs said.

Snow was expected to fall above 7,500 feet, he said.

If the rain showers fall in a spread-out pattern through Friday, there should be few problems for motorists, Downs said.

Normally winter showers here do not cause much flooding, but if the area gets a downpour, some street flooding should be expected, Downs said.

As the slow-moving storm drifts east of Las Vegas on Friday, there is a chance of scattered thunderstorms, primarily in the mountains, Downs said.

The temperatures will not change much as cloudy skies are expected, he said.

Daytime highs could range from the mid-50s to lower 60s. Lows could dip into the 40s.