Las Vegas gamblers may be traveling through snow to roll the dice on New Year's if a winter storm dumps as much as three inches on the city, as some meteorologists are predicting.
Winter Storm Frona, a New Year's Eve snow storm, is moving through the western United States this week, and may bring some unusual weather to a city that doesn’t typically see
measurable snow, according to The Washington Post.
Frona has already delivered "significant snowfall" to the
Northwest mountains, The Weather Channel said. As the arctic air moves toward Las Vegas, estimates are varying on whether the valley floor where the Las Vegas Strip is will see some accumulation.
Snowfall has hit 19 inches in Clearwater County, Idaho, and like amounts at certain spots in Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Utah, the WC said, and right now the estimate for Las Vegas falls between trace amounts and three inches.
The Post pointed out that any accumulation of snow is likely to bring Vegas to a halt. In 2008, 3.6 inches fell and caused numerous car accidents, school closings, and flight delays. That was a record snowfall for December in the typically warm area. If any measurable snow falls in Las Vegas Wednesday and Thursday, The Post said it would be "just the sixth time the location will have accumulated snow in the month of December."
In 1909, Las Vegas saw 12 inches of snow. More recently, a New Year’s Day storm deposited 4.4 inches of snow in 1974.
The idea of a white New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas surprised many online.
But some people were excited at the idea of the white stuff.
"Dear US National Weather Service Las Vegas Nevada, Please stop toying with my emotions
about this snow," one person wrote on Facebook. "You dropped it to 1500 and back up to 2000 . . . If there is NO snow, I will be very upset . . . Im portugese (sic) . . . you really dont want to upset me . . . Thanks, Glad we had this talk . . ."