Valley handling rains well

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

Winter weather stormed through California and eased into the Las Vegas Valley overnight Wednesday, dumping snow on the Spring Mountains and leaving the valley drenched by this morning.

Police reported 15 accidents with no injuries, and four with injuries, between midnight and 8 a.m. this morning. That's a fairly normal set of numbers for an overnight Wednesday-Thursday, said Metro Sgt. Rob Lundquist.

The rainfall was typical for winter, slow and steady, well within the handling capacity of the flood control district, said Clark County Regional Flood Control District spokeswoman Betty Hollister.

"We're looking at a little over half an inch of rain on the west side of the valley, decreasing as we head east, with less than a tenth of an inch," she said Thursday morning. "Winter storms tend to be more gentle and steady, versus the intensity of flash floods in summer."

The National Weather Service forecast for the afternoon is for cloudy skies, with more rain possible through tomorrow. Saturday is to be partly cloudy, with a chance of rain coming Monday.

Regionally, rainfall from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. this morning ranged from .15 inches at Primm to .38 inches at Mesquite.

For the Spring Mountains, which are under a winter storm watch, forecasters last night were expecting 8 to 12 inches of snow at 6,000 feet between midnight and 4 p.m. today, according to Meteorologist Jim Harrison.

An avalanche warning remains in effect for the Kyle and Lee Canyons, officials said.