Cold storm brings Vegas snow, closes I-5 in Calif.
Tim Morasco and his daughter, Brooklyn Morasco scrape some snow off rocks at the edge of town after one to two inches dusted the western part of the city, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
LAS VEGAS — Gamblers on the Las Vegas Strip awoke to snow flurries Monday morning as part of a winter storm that turned the main highway be tween Southern and Central California into a snowy, icy parking lot.
Hundreds of motorists returning from the New Year’s holiday found themselves stuck after Interstate 5 was closed for a second day over the 4,160-foot-high Tejon Pass, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles.
The California Highway Patrol closed the 30-mile stretch of I-5 shortly after 12:30 p.m. Sunday because of blowing snow. Melting snow made the road icy, and the Highway Patrol said Monday morning that the freeway probably will remain closed for hours as snow plows struggle to clear the mountain route.
Other drivers spent hours crawling over Interstate 15’s snowy Cajon Pass to get back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas, where there was a trace of snow Monday at the official measuring station near McCarran International Airport.
National Weather Service meteorologist John Adair said there won’t be any accumulation near the hotels and casinos, but at least one neighborhood has a dusting of white, and up to 6 inches of snow fell overnight in Pahrump, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.
The weather service predicted the storm will dump more snow at elevations as low as 1,500 feet. On Sunday, suburban Santa Clarita just north of Los Angeles got a rare snowfall.
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In Montana and North Dakota, Amtrak expected to resume normal service Monday after a weekend weather stoppage. Snow, freezing temperatures and subzero wind chills had led Burlington Northern Santa Fe to halt passenger traffic on its tracks, while freight trains ran at slower speeds.
In Utah, the search for a missing hiker was halted late Sunday because of cold and dangerous conditions.
Officials planned to use a helicopter Monday to try to find the missing man who fell 300 feet from a cliff ledge at Snow Canyon State Park north of Santa Clara.
Washington County Sheriff-elect Cory Pulsipher told The Spectrum of St. George that rescuers were able to find two other men in the group of hikers, who were stranded on a hazardous climb.
