IT SNOWS EVERYWHERE....NOT JUST BUFFALO.

When I say Buffalo - You think snow, Right? We get such a bad rap about the amount of snow we receive BUT it looks as though times are changing! This was crazy to see and hear. I was also excited to receive below photos!



By Sun Staff
A rare snowstorm blanketed the Las Vegas Valley on Wednesday, delaying flights, causing widespread fender-benders and canceling events. More than 6 inches of snow had fallen in parts of the valley, forecasters said.

The rarities continued Wednesday night with the Clark County School District's announcement that students are getting a snow day on Thursday. It's the first snow day for Clark County students since 1979, when a storm dropped 9.9 inches of snow in January that year.

With ice and snow on the roads, and district buses responsible for transporting more than 80,000 students, closing school was the prudent move, Superintendent Walt Rulffes said.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect through 6 a.m. Thursday. The weather service said its Las Vegas office had reported 3.6 inches of snow by 9:50 p.m.

"The foothills should see amounts of 5 to 10 inches overnight and the higher mountains between 1 and 2 feet of total snowfall," the weather service's warning said. An advisory from the weather service Wednesday afternoon called the snow event "extremely rare."

photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal website


















Passengers, planes frozen at McCarran Airport
Updated: Dec 17, 2008 04:23 PM
(From the FOX5 News Website)
Thursday's winter storm has frozen flights at McCarran Airport.
While the airport is not shut down, flights on the ground are delayed and planes coming in will only land at the pilot's discretion.
Flights around the country that have not taken off will stay on the ground until visibility improves.
There is snow on the runway at McCarran and the National Weather Service has issued a Weather Warning, blaming reduced visibility for possible delays in departures and arrivals.
The warning will last until 4 a.m. Thursday, December 18, with moderate to heavy snow of up to 3 inches at the airport.

7,000 Customers Without Power
POSTED: 7:02 pm PST December 17, 2008
UPDATED: 9:20 pm PST December 17, 2008
(From the FOX5 News Website)
NV Energy Has No Estimate On When Outages Will Be Fixed
LAS VEGAS -- NV Energy announced power outages affecting about 7,000 customers in various areas across the Valley.
Some of the customers are located in the area of Rancho and Owens Avenue, Rancho and Valley View Boulevard and East Desert Inn and South Mojave roads.













National Weather Service records show that snowfall that sticks on the ground and piles up occurs about once every 20 years.
By Mary Manning Wed, Dec 17, 2008 (4:20 p.m.)
Most people envision sun and palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze when they dream about their Las Vegas vacations, but those arriving in Las Vegas between October and mid-April may be surprised to find snowflakes falling.
According to National Weather Service records, the most snowfall recorded in the Las Vegas Valley was 16.7 inches in January 1949, followed by January 1974 with 13.4 inches and January 1979 with 9.9 inches.
Measurable snow officially fell in Las Vegas on Dec. 30, 2003, with 1.3 inches on the ground, the weather service said.

WHAT SCARES ME THE MOST FOR VEGAS!!!

Traffic accidents numerous
By Sun Staff
Published Wed, Dec 17, 2008 (6:52 a.m.)
Streets around the valley were becoming slick and slushy through the evening.
The Nevada Highway Patrol and Metro Police said there had been numerous fender-benders on wet roads, but no serious injuries through Wednesday evening.
As snow continued to pile up, so did the number of car crashes. Metro Police have been working several accidents since the snow began to fall.
One included a pickup truck that had rolled over about 7:15 p.m. in the southbound lane in the 2300 block of Green Valley Parkway outside of the Wild Horse Estate Apartments. The pickup truck knocked down two small trees before it came to a stop in front of the street light. The vehicle rolled once and was on its side, perpendicular to the traffic, blocking the lanes.
At 7:55 p.m., Metro officers were working 26 accidents with four injuries, a hit-and-run, nine other traffic accidents and 11 traffic problems, which range from a stalled car to traffic light outages. The number of traffic incidents decreased into the night as fewer cars were on the roads.
Metro updates its traffic site every 15 minutes with accidents and traffic problems officers are currently working. Officer Jay Rivera said the most common accident officers are seeing involve cars colliding into other vehicles from behind, mostly at traffic lights.
There had been no fatalities through Wednesday evening, he said.
“People are use to following at a certain distance in dry conditions and are following at that same distance in these wet conditions and then rear-ending other cars," Rivera said.
"People aren't used to the snow," Officer Barbara Morgan said. "You need to drive the way conditions dictate."
Metro Police reported 18 wrecks between 2:15 and 3:25 p.m., including two hit-and-runs.
"People are driving silly," Morgan said. "They need to just slow down."
The Nevada Highway Patrol reported two crashes in the Henderson area during the same time frame — one at U.S. 95 and Wagon Wheel Drive and another at U.S. 95 and Horizon Drive. Additionally, U.S. 95 to Searchlight was closed beginning at Railroad Pass.
Motorists traveling to California and outside the Las Vegas Valley were finding major delays on Interstate 15 and other highways.
The Nevada Department of Transportation reported the highway was closed in both direction between Primm and Baker, Calif., because of snowy weather. Officials also said U.S. 95 was closed from the California line to U.S. 93 because of a traffic accident, and State Road 163, State Road 164 and State Road 165 were closed.
NDOT will be deicing bridges and ramps on U.S. 95 and I-15 during the night.
Blue Diamond Highway (SR 160) was closed and motorists were advised to detour using U.S. 95 north to SR 160 south to access Pahrump. Chains, snow tires, or four-wheel drive vehicle restrictions are in place for Mountain Springs and Mount Charleston.
North Las Vegas officials were urging motorists to stay off the streets.
“Motorists should slow down and be aware of their surroundings to avoid slamming on the breaks or jerking the steering wheel on frozen roads,” public works director Qiong Liu said. “These actions could cause a vehicle to veer or slide out of control, posing a risk to the driver and other vehicles on the road.”
The Nevada Highway Patrol was preparing to close Interstate 515 southbound at Railroad Pass, blocking traffic into Boulder City for all but Boulder City residents, Police Chief Thomas Finn said. In addition, traffic along U.S. 93 from Hoover Dam into Boulder City was to be diverted, Finn said.
Traffic will be routed onto Lake Shore Road and through Henderson to get to the Las Vegas area, National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said. Finn said Boulder City residents would be allowed through.
The Regional Transportation Commission has closed a portion of its 402 Route from Nevada State College to Boulder City, and officials cautioned that other bus routes that serve higher elevations may be detoured or delayed as well.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/dec/17/rain-snow-moving-las-vegas-valley/