Storm brings rain, snow to Southern Nevada

As light rain dampened Mark Tessier's baseball cap Monday afternoon, his bright disposition contrasted with the gloomy skies.

Tessier, a district manager for a company that dispenses water at valley strip malls, had just learned that the water stand at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Alexander Road did more business than usual.

That discovery prompted him to give what a meteorologist would call a lousy weather report.

"It's a sunshiny day," Tessier said.

In reality, gray clouds and sporadic rainfall sent Las Vegas Valley residents searching for their umbrellas.

A storm surged from Southern California and brought rain to the valley and 6 inches of snow to the Spring Mountains.

Monday's precipitation made February a wetter month than usual in the Las Vegas Valley. Meteorologist David Gomberg called it the area's "most significant storm so far this season."

The storm bumped rainfall up to .77 inches for the month of February, exceeding the 30-year normal of .69 inches for the valley, recorded at McCarran International Airport.

"It's not real unusual," meteorologist John Salmen said. "We get these storms rolling in every once in a while."

Rain in the valley and snow in the mountains are expected today but in scattered amounts, Salmen said. The weather system will clear out of the valley early today and make way for warmer temperatures by midweek.

Temperatures in the 70s are expected for the weekend.

A winter storm warning was issued for the mountainous areas of Southern Nevada, where accumulations of 10 inches to 18 inches of snow were predicted Monday. The Nevada Highway Patrol said there were no road closures or major accidents because of the inclement weather.

The highest rainfall totals for the day were at the North Las Vegas Airport, where 0.14 inches accumulated.

Another wave of winter also pounded the Sierra Nevada with heavy snow, snarling traffic in the mountains as skiers headed home from a holiday weekend. After a break in the storm clouds early Monday, winter brought another potent punch by midday.

The Nevada and California highway patrols held westbound commercial vehicles on Interstate 80 at the state line because of snowy conditions and heavy traffic.

For other travelers without four-wheel drive, chains or snow tires were required on I-80 over Donner Summit and all other trans-Sierra highways, including U.S. 50 over Echo Summit and Highway 88 over Carson Pass.

A winter storm warning remained in effect for the Lake Tahoe region through early today.

The weather service said that higher elevations could receive an additional 3 feet of snow by then, on top of the 7 feet that has fallen in the past week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.