Wet weekend ahead for Las Vegas Valley

By Dave Toplikar

Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 | 6:59 a.m.

Find an umbrella — a storm system moved into the Las Vegas area overnight, bringing heavy snow to the mountains and light to steady rain in the valley throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter storm warning has been issued for elevations of 5,500 feet in the Spring Mountains, including Mount Charleston, until 4 p.m. today, the weather service said.

Snow amounts of 12 inches to 18 inches are expected, with winds gusting 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of 40 to 50 mph, forecasters said.

A strong Pacific storm system off the California coast will slowly move across the southern Great Basin and Mojave Desert through Sunday, the weather service said.

As of 6:56 a.m., McCarran International Airport reported .04 of an inch of rain overnight.

Around the valley just before 7 a.m., rain totals were .33 of an inch at North Las Vegas Airport, .01 at Nellis Air Force Base, .09 of an inch in Henderson Executive Airport and .10 at Red Rock Canyon.

No flooding is expected in Las Vegas, but the weather service has issued a flood advisory for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and central Mohave County in Northwest Arizona.

At 6:15 a.m., radar indicated heavy rain was moving over much of central Mohave County in Arizona, which has already received 1 to 2 inches of rain overnight. The weather service said additional rain will lead to minor flooding of urban areas and rapid rises in normally dry washes.

Despite the rain, temperatures will warm into the mid 60s today, forecasters say.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 49 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 42 degrees. The record low was 25 degrees, set in 1952.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 48 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 49 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 47 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 52 degrees by 9 a.m., to 57 degrees by noon and reach a high of 58 degrees by 1 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 64 degrees and the record high was 82 degrees, set in 1981.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 52 degrees by 6 p.m., to 47 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 43 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Sunday's morning low will be 36 degrees and Sunday's high will climb to 58 degrees, they said.