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Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023

Was Las Vegas’s Valentine’s Day 2023 snowfall the first on record?

Austin Tannenbaum, The Nevada Independent
yes

On Feb. 14, Las Vegas received its first Valentine’s Day snowfall on record. The National Weather Service began keeping records in 1937.

Many factors influence an area's likelihood of snowfall. The three most important are humidity, temperature and longitude, according to a study published in the Journal of Arid Land. The study listed elevation, aspect and latitude as secondary factors, and slope and wind speed as tertiary factors.

Las Vegas, which is located in the Mojave Desert, has a relatively low longitude and elevation and is a considerable distance away from the moisture of the Pacific Ocean. These characteristics give it a warm, dry climate, making snow a rare occurrence — about once in five years.

Northern Nevada’s higher longitude and elevation, and higher humidity in the northwest, afford this part of the state more snowfall. Reno, for instance, gets snow an average of 14 days a year.

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The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

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