Remembering Las Vegas snowstorm of 1979 — PHOTOS

Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 years ago

Two fun-loving residents take a trip down a snow-covered hill in Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 1979. (Las ... — Two fun-loving residents take a trip down a snow-covered hill in Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 1979. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Just guessing here, but that underdressed guy walking into a Las Vegas casino probably is a tourist who didn’t pack for snowy weather on Jan. 31, 1979. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Call this one "Snow at the Sands" on the Las Vegas Strip, Jan. 31, 1979. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Tami Nelson, 16, and Scharlotte Rhoads, 15, build an igloo at Sunset Park in Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 1979. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A coating of snow gives this statue a snow woman-like appearance in Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 1979. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The only problem with a desert snowfall in Las Vegas is having to drive in a desert snowfall, Jan. 31, 1979. Don’t tell anyone, but we’re not terribly good at it. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

This very unmistakable, and perhaps appropriate-for-Las Vegas, snow woman was seen on Westfield Drive in Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 1979. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

For good or for bad, there’s nothing like a Las Vegas snow day.

Sure, there are pretty snowflakes falling from the sky and a break from the meteorological routine. But, in Southern Nevada, a winter snowstorm also means snarled traffic and all sorts of other problems.

It was 41 years ago, on Jan. 31, 1979, that Southern Nevadans saw a surprising 7.4 inches of snow fall on the valley during a single 24-hour period. According to the Review-Journal, Nevada Highway Patrol and Las Vegas police reported too many fender-benders to count, and valley road crews struggled to keep things moving.

The storm also forced the closure of public schools. McCarran International Airport closed with three inches on the ground. And Desert Springs Hospital and other businesses, as well as some residents, lost power for 90 minutes because of what officials called storm-related power line damage.

Yet, even amid all of this snowy havoc, kids slid down hills and snowpeople were created.

The National Weather Service says that 1979 storm still holds the record for greatest daily snowfall here (second place: Jan. 5, 1974, with 4.7 inches).

Here are a few things we did that day.