December, 2008 was a weird month in Las Vegas. Every day was unusually cold and windy. I felt like I was living in a place like New York. Many of the highs were around 34 degrees that month, and this cold spell lasted for weeks.
On December 14, I had the TV on. The news came on, and when the weather segment started, I paid close attention to see if the cold spell was finally going to end.
Instead, they showed a storm approaching from the distance, with the warning, "Looks like we're going to get some rain on Wednesday."
The high was still forecast in the 30s. I thought to myself, "Rain? It's going to be a high in the 30s. Why aren't they talking about snow?"
The next few days, I was playing at Bellagio during the Five Diamond series (I was playing cash, though), and trying to convince people that measurable snow was coming to Vegas.
Everyone treated me like I was crazy.
"We don't get measurable snow, only flurries", said one.
"I don't believe it. I heard nothing about this on the news, and if this was coming, they'd be making a big deal about it," said another.
"I've heard people talking about snow in the past, but it always ends up being a dusting at most," said yet another.
Not a single person believed me when I told them that I thought we would get a real snowstorm dumping several inches.
I actually was talked into doubting my own assessment. Wednesday came, and I didn't even think about the snow prediction anymore.
At 4pm, I went to the DMV to get a new license. As I walked out of my car, I noticed light snow starting to fall, but I had seen snow like that in Vegas before.
At 4:45pm, I came out to find snow on top of my car, and the snow coming down much heavier -- much more similar to the winter storms I had seen in Mammoth. This was real snow!
The drive back to my apartment was brutal. Everyone was going about 10mph. All drivers were in a panic. I had to drive onto curbs, medians, and the opposite side of the street to get around people. I was used to driving in the snow from my prior visits to Mammoth, Big Bear, and Lake Tahoe.
By the time the day was over, 6 inches of snow had fallen in Las Vegas (eight inches in Henderson), making it the second snowiest day in Las Vegas recorded history.
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