Las Vegas gets snow; another 10 feet by Monday in high Sierra

By: SANDRA CHEREB - Associated Press | Friday, January 7, 2005 9:19 PM PST ∞

RENO, Nev. -- A powerful winter storm clobbered the Sierra and northern Nevada with heavy snow and high winds Friday, closing schools and businesses and making travel treacherous from one end of the state to the other -- with still more snow in the forecast.

Winds in excess of 100 mph were recorded over the highest ridges of the Sierra near Lake Tahoe, where as much as 10 feet of new snow was expected at the higher elevations by the time a series of storms is expected to move out Monday night.

The potent storm churning in from the Pacific even brought a rare snowfall to the Las Vegas Strip on Friday, with some parts of the oasis city reporting up to 2 inches of snow.

Winter storm warnings continued across all of the Sierra and most of northern Nevada into Monday.

Washoe County, Sparks and Reno governments -- still digging out from last week's storm that left up to 4 feet of snow in some areas -- each declared a state of emergency on Friday. Government offices, including Reno Municipal Court, were shut down and workers sent home.

Schools were closed in Pyramid Lake, Virginia City and Washoe County, where students had their winter breaks extended for two days earlier this week because of the last storm.

Gov. Kenny Guinn sent all nonessential state employees home by noon Friday, and public safety officers urged people to stay off slick streets.

By Friday evening, the storm fueled by moist air from the Pacific had left more than a foot of snow in some valley areas north of Reno, and forecasters said the worst was still to come. In some areas, snow briefly turned to rain just before dusk.

"With this much snow, even at this early stage of the storm, it is going to make for treacherous conditions," said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chuck Allen. "I would seriously think one would want to stay home this weekend if you can."

Chains or snow tires were required along a 300 mile stretch of Interstate 80 -- the main east-west route across the state -- from Baxter, Calif., to east of Elko about 100 miles from the Utah line.

In southern Nevada, the U.S. Forest Service issued an extreme avalanche warning for the backcountry areas of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. The advisory does not apply to the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort in the Mount Charleston area, which is about 30 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip.

In Mono County, Calif., along the eastern Sierra, avalanche warnings were issued for areas around Twin Lakes, Bridgeport and June Lake. Sgt. Dave O'Hara of the Mono County Sheriff's Office said deputies went door-to-door in some avalanche prone areas.

"We advised the residents they might want to seek shelter someplace else. The snow loading on the hills is precarious," he said Friday.

A few people left their homes in the Twin Lakes area but no one had showed up late Friday at shelters set up at June Lake and Bridgeport, Calif., O'Hara said.

Forecasters said the brunt of the storm, accompanied by gusting winds, would likely hit Friday night or Saturday. But the intense low pressure system responsible for the storm will remain nearly stationary off the Washington and Oregon coast before moving inland across California and Nevada on Monday, the National Weather Service said.

By noon Friday, state troopers already had responded to more than a dozen traffic accidents in the Reno area. Scores of other motorists were stuck or needed some kind of assistance, Allen said.

"It's very bad conditions. Snow is coming down hard," Allen said. No serious accidents were reported.

At Reno-Tahoe International Airport, plows were keeping runways and taxiways open but there were flight delays and cancelations.

"The snow removal crews are doing a terrific job. We got a lot of practice last weekend," airport spokesman Brian Kulpin said.

"If it continues (Saturday), we're going to bring in management people to work with janitors and customer service people to help shovel snow."

In southern Nevada, a snow advisory was issued for Pahrump, Indian Springs and Armagosa Valley northwest of Las Vegas. Highway 160 from Las Vegas to Pahrump was closed because of dangerous conditions. Snow accumulations of up to 5 inches were expected, with larger amounts at higher elevations.

The dusting of snow on the Las Vegas Strip surprised tourists and residents alike.

"We looked out over the lagoon, and there's snow over the palm trees," said Mandalay Bay resort spokesman Gordon Absher.

"It's beautiful," said Wendy Williams, an employee at Caesars Palace hotel-casino. "People are all, like, 'What's going on?"'

It's been about a year since a rare desert snowfall on the Las Vegas Strip. A Dec. 30, 2003, snowstorm was the first in five years to deposit an inch or two of snow on the desert city.

Farther north, total snow amounts by Monday night should range from 2 to 4 feet in the Nevada valleys of the eastern Sierra front to 8 to 10 feet at the higher elevations of the mountains, the weather service said.

Wind gusts up to 50 mph were expected at Lake Tahoe's lake level of about 6,200 feet, exceeding 100 mph over the mountain ridges, through the weekend.

The city of Reno hired at least 50 contractors to help with snow removal.

"We've been working solid for the last week," contractor Kevin Lewis said.

Rosemary Collori, who recently moved to Reno from Illinois, spent much of the day shoveling snow at the Reno convenience store where she works.

"I'm used to this from the Chicago area but I didn't want to face it again," Collori said.

"I brought it with me, that's what I think about it. I've been here for four months and this is what happened," she said.

Paul Mudd of Reno said he was fortunate to make it to work before the heavier snow began.

"There were wrecks everywhere I guess you would say," he said. "I think I just missed an accident on the freeway so I got lucky I guess."

Associated Press writers Scott Sonner in Reno, Brendan Riley in Carson City and Ken Ritter and Tim Dahlberg in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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