A pedestrian walks though a puddle after a rainstorm at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021.
Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021 | 11 p.m.
A powerful storm swept into Southern Nevada on Tuesday, bringing rain and gusty winds to Las Vegas and snow flurries in the Spring Mountains.
Snowfall blanketed Mount Charleston, leaving Lee Canyon with 7 inches and Kyle Canyon with 5 as of 9 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.
On Tuesday, Harry Reid International Airport received .13 of an inch of rain, weather service meteorologist Brian Planz said.
Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph blasted parts of the valley but died down late Tuesday as the storm system exited the area.
Temperatures in Las Vegas are returning to more seasonable normals, snapping a record string of more than 650 days above freezing.
After dipping to a low of 32 degrees Saturday, overnight lows for the next few days should hover just above freezing, according to the weather service.
“It’s definitely a snap back to reality,” meteorologist Chris Outler said. “It’s definitely something more standard for this time of year and it shouldn’t cause any problems.”
Before Saturday, the last freeze in the valley was Feb. 5, 2020, when the mercury dipped to 31 degrees. That was a record string of 674 days above freezing, Outler said.
Mount Charleston already has a white cap on it, but don’t expect any snow in the valley. Overnight lows through Sunday are forecast for 32 to 36 degrees, with daytime highs of 50 to 56.
“This is the time of year when temperatures kind of bottom out,” Outler said.
The coldest all-time high in December was was 47 degrees on Dec. 14, 2016. The coldest low was set Dec. 23, 1990, when it dipped to 11 degrees.
