Weather Outside Your Window: Photos: Snow makes a rare appearance in Las Vegas

Monday, February 11, 2019

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist

Snowflakes made a rare appearance in Las Vegas as cold air plunged into the deserts of the southwestern United States on Sunday night.

Residents and visitors across the city flocked to social media to post photos and videos of the rare snow event.

Las Vegas recorded a high temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday afternoon, but a cold front passed through the area during the evening hours and sent temperatures tumbling into the upper 30s F.

Light snow accompanied the front's passage through the region, along with gusty winds that whipped the snow through the air.

Due to the prior mild conditions, the snow mainly accumulated on elevated surfaces such as vehicles, trash cans and outdoor furniture, as opposed to roads and sidewalks. A trace of snow was reported at McCarran International Airport.

This was the first snowfall in the city since a trace of snow fell in December 2015. Las Vegas averages 0.3 of an inch of snow in a year.

Snow also fell across the Grapevine in Southern California, forcing the closure of Interstate 5 in both directions. It eventually reopened Monday morning.

This was the same cold front that brought heavy snowfall to the Seattle metro area this past weekend.