Rain falls in parts of Las Vegas Valley as March storm bears down
The Las Vegas Valley turned into a chilly, wet place in some areas Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
As a Pacific storm bore down on parts of Southern California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, light rain was seen around downtown Las Vegas late Wednesday afternoon into the evening and into early Thursday.
A winter storm warning for the Spring Mountains expires at 10 a.m. Friday.
Areas above 9,000 feet may get between 8 and 14 inches of snow (above 5,000 feet, 2 to 6 inches; above 7,000 feet, 4 to 10 inches), said a Wednesday afternoon forecast for Mount Charleston and Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
“Heavy snow is expected to develop over the mountains,” the National Weather Service said on X. “While mountains will see snow, rain is also expected across lower elevations. … (Prepare) for hazardous travel conditions.”
The all-too-rare precipitation came less than a month after the weather service measured 0.01 inches of rain at Harry Reid International Airport on Feb. 13. That measurement snapped a streak of 214 consecutive days with no measurable rain in Las Vegas.
It was only the second time in nearly 90 years, according to the service, that Las Vegas recorded 200 or more days without measurable rain.
A wind advisory for Clark County expired at 7 p.m. Thursday. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph were expected, the weather service said.
Temperatures were expected to remain steady in the 50s and 60s through Friday, with warmer air predicted for the weekend. But the forecast for next week calls for below normal temperatures and more chances for rain.
Dry February
Las Vegas is coming off of its third-warmest February on record since 1937, according to Climate Central, a science nonprofit. The city experienced an average temperature of 59.7 degrees — about 4.4 degrees hotter than normal.
And even though February is considered Las Vegas’ rainiest month, meteorologists said the 0.57 inches of rain was 71 percent of what is normally expected.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. Contact Mark Davis at mdavis@reviewjournal.com.
