Rain gone as quickly as it hit

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

A predawn storm washed across the Las Vegas Valley today and dropped snow on Mount Charleston but caused few reported problems.

"We had 25 responses to auto accidents on Wednesday -- we usually have 31 for a weekday," Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Jim Olschlager said. "Everyone may have been sleeping during the rain."

The quick-moving storm dropped 0.40 of an inch of rain at the official weather station at McCarran International Airport and 4 inches of snow on the mountain, National Weather Service spokesman Brian Fuis said.

The rainfall brought the year-to-date precipitation for the valley to 0.91 of an inch, which is 0.17 of an inch below normal.

The snowfall on the mountain brought the accumulated snow on the ground to 6 inches, Fuis said.

"The storm moved through quickly -- we're done as far as rain is concerned," Fuis said.

The forecast for the rest of today calls for clearing skies with highs in the mid-60s with northerly winds 5-15 mph. Tonight's forecast is for mostly clear skies with lows near 45 degrees.

Friday's forecast is for mostly sunny skies with daytime highs in the mid-60s and 5 to 15 mph northerly winds. Similar conditions are projected through the weekend.

Partly cloudy skies are predicted for Monday.