Winter brings a chill to Las Vegas

By Jackie Valley

Published Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010 | 8:01 a.m.

Updated Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010 | 12:11 p.m.

The view from your window could be deceiving today: Highs will top out around 44 degrees despite mostly sunny skies, but wind gusts are making it feel even chillier.

Snow flurries that fell in some parts of the Las Vegas Valley overnight are gone today with no additional snow expected, said Barry Pierce, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Las Vegas.

"We just kind of missed out on some of the wraparound (snow) this morning," he said.

Farther south, ice and snow conditions between Primm and Baker, Calif., forced the closure of Interstate 15 in both directions this morning. The highway reopened about 7:30 a.m. as the California Highway Patrol escorted drivers from Halloran Springs Road to the Nevada state line.

Because that stretch of highway sits at a higher elevation, it didn't escape snow and ice from the winter storm, Pierce said.

Southern Nevada had another cold and windy day, with 35 to 40 mph gusts until early afternoon. At that point, wind speeds will diminish to between 22 to 25 mph.

Some gusts reached higher than 40 mph in the valley early this morning, Pierce said.

Forecasters said the brisk north winds will produce wind chill temperatures in the 20s to low 30s today.

Higher elevations surrounding Las Vegas that received the most snow aren't yet free from the winter storm's grasp.

The Spring Mountains west of Las Vegas have a 40 percent chance of snow again today, but additional accumulation will be less than an inch, Pierce said.

In 24 hours ending this morning, the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort received nearly 13 inches of snow while residents in Kyle Canyon at Mount Charleston got 5 to 7 inches of snow, forecasters said.

In Las Vegas, pockets of rain and snow flurries in the valley brings the number of days with a trace of precipitation or more this month to 11, according to the National Weather Service. That ties for the second largest number for a December in Las Vegas.

Twelve days of precipitation set the record in 1941, with the normal being four days in December.

Nellis Air Force Base received the most rain Wednesday in the valley at 0.15 inches. Other rain totals included 0.08 inch at Lake Las Vegas, 0.04 inch in east Henderson, 0.01 inch at West Aliante and 0.04 inch in Southern Highlands.

Cold weather will usher in the new year, with a low near 30 degrees tonight and a high near 41 degrees Friday.

Expect the last hours of 2010 to be even chillier in Las Vegas as temperatures dip to near or below freezing at midnight. New Year's Day will be partly sunny with a high near 43 degrees and northeast winds around 6 mph.