Weird Las Vegas weather year saw snow, grasshoppers and lots of rain

In this Thursday, July 25, 2019 photo, a grasshopper rests on a wall outside California Pizza Kitchen in downtown Summerlin on Thursday, July 25, 2019, in Las Vegas. A migration of mild-mannered grasshoppers sweeping through the Las Vegas area is being attributed to wet weather several months ago. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Grasshoppers crawl on a slot machine at Slots A Fun, Sunday, July 28, 2019, in Las Vegas. (David Guzman/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Dorian Williams, from Houston, checks out the grasshoppers outside the El Cortez on Sunday, July 28, 2019 in Las Vegas. (Michael Blackshire/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Grasshoppers outside the El Cortez on Sunday, July 28, 2019 in Las Vegas. (Michael Blackshire/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Grasshopper drink with grasshopper hanging out nearby by bartender Sarah Contois at the Smashed Pig on Sunday, July 27, 2019, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images

Palm trees are blanketed in snow near the Summerlin Parkway eastbound on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager Review-Journal) @BenjaminHphoto

Traffic is backed up in heavy snow near Centennial High School on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager Review-Journal) @BenjaminHphoto

Lincoln Warnick, 10, from left, with his sisters Abby, 6, and Lydia, 12, play in the snow at Willows Park in Las Vegas, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco

Cameron Partovi, right, and Sammy Kamyar build a snowman in South Tower Park in Summerlin as snow falls in Las Vegas, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (Heidi Fang /Las Vegas Review-Journal) @HeidiFang

Bruce Outwater tries to stay dry while waking on Fremont Street in the early morning snow in Downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (Benjamin Hager Review-Journal) @BenjaminHphoto

A view of the snow at Red Rock on state Route 159 on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (Mat Luschek/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Snow and grasshoppers and rain — lots of rain —oh my! It’s been a unique year for weather in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas welcomed 2019 with the coldest February in 35 years, maintaining a low average temperature of 47.6, according to the National Weather Service. On Feb. 20 and 21, the valley saw 0.8 inches of snow, its first measurable snowfall since December 2008.
McCarran International Airport measured 6.87 inches of rain this year, well above the average of 4.49 inches, the weather service said. The average level was passed on May 10.
Christie Vanover, a spokeswoman for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, said above-average rainfall often leads to a wildflower superbloom the following year.
But with a couple more months of winter ahead, she said it’s too early to tell how the 2020 wildflower season will look. The weather in January, February and March can make or break a potential superbloom, she said.
“This spring, as the seedlings begin to germinate, the air temperatures need to remain mild for the seedlings to fully grow and bloom,” Vanover said. “If the temperatures drop below freezing or if they reach the upper 80s or 90s, that will cause the plants to either freeze or set seeds for the next season more quickly.”
High levels of precipitation early in the year also apparently contributed to an unnerving swarm of grasshoppers that buzzed through the valley in July.
The town finally dried up in the summer, marking the driest monsoon season since 2010, according to the weather service.
But fall made up for it, bringing the ninth-wettest November on record, with just over an inch and a half of rain, the weather service said.
According to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, 2020 is expected to start much differently than 2019 did: with three months of below-average precipitation and above-average temperatures.
Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.