A strong cold front could give Las Vegas its own version of wintry weather later this week.
As a powerful storm continues to cripple the East Coast, forecasters say a weather system could dump snow in the mountains of Southern Nevada during the middle of the week. The National Weather Service said snow showers will be possible in the Las Vegas Valley on Thursday morning.
The high temperature today in Las Vegas is expected to reach 57 degrees with mostly sunny skies. After similar weather Tuesday, forecasters said Las Vegas has an 80 percent chance of rain on Wednesday.
The cold front moving through the Mojave Desert and Southern Great Basin will usher in wind gusts up to 21 mph in Las Vegas and could prompt wind advisories, the weather service said.
The low temperature early Thursday will drop to about 35 degrees in Las Vegas with a chance of snow showers in the valley.
Rain is possible before 10 p.m. Wednesday, but the precipitation could turn to light snow as low as 2,100 feet in elevation -- about the same elevation as the Las Vegas Strip -- as temperatures tumble to about 30 degrees in the valley. The chance of precipitation in the valley is 40 percent, the weather service said.
No snow accumulation is expected in the valley. Forecasters issued a winter storm watch ahead of the storm for areas in Southern Nevada above 5,000 feet.
Chilly temperatures will stick around for the biggest night of the year in Las Vegas. The high will reach about 43 degrees on New Year's Eve with the morning low dipping to 31 on New Year's Day, forecasters said.
The average high temperature in Las Vegas in late December is 56 degrees, according to weather service records.
Also today, a powerful East Coast blizzard was causing ripples at McCarran International Airport as several flights were delayed or canceled after several major airports were shut down.
