Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Team coverageSnowy weather across the West is creating a number of problems and shutting down schools and airports. Flights bound for Las Vegas were diverted to Utah, stranding travelers overnight.
Snow is a common sight on the Wasatch Front, but a sight worth remembering on the Las Vegas Strip. It caught residents by surprise and grounded operations at the city's McCarran Airport.
Snowy runways made takeoffs too risky. The FAA stopped flights bound for Las Vegas from leaving their departure city. "I'm going home. I was so mad I couldn't go home last night. I was so ready for it," traveler Amanda Thomas said.
Stacy Moses and her friends were flying from Ohio to Las Vegas when their plane was grounded in Salt Lake. They hoped to catch another flight this morning, but it was canceled as well. "Nicole's mom has been there 32 times and there was never any snow there. Then when we decide to go, we get snow," Moses said.
Another traveler, Brian Todoroff, said, "I was really frustrated because we were supposed to get there yesterday, 12 hours ago, and we're still here till 2 p.m. today."
Jeff Kubie was going to Las Vegas for Christmas to see his sister. He was planning on warmth and gambling instead of snow, but his JetBlue flight had to stop in Denver to refuel and came to Salt Lake instead.
Kubie says some of his fellow travelers gave the flight attendants a hard time once they knew they weren't going to Las Vegas. "They had a hard flight. They had to stop in Denver to refuel because of the weather. But they (flight attendants) kept us in good humor the best they could," he said. "One of the stewardesses said, ‘Come over to my house for mac and cheese,' because she lives in Utah."
Kubie spent the night at the Comfort Inn downtown, along with about 40 other people. Dozens more slept at the airport.
BYU student Priscilla de la Vega was trying to fly home to Las Vegas on Southwest this morning. "I've called Southwest a couple of times just to make sure my flight was still on time in case we can't land or something. But, in theory, everything is fine," she said.
"I've lived there for almost 15 years. I've never seen snow stick to the ground," de la Vega added. "I know we have no snow plows, so that could be a problem. I know a lot of people are flying through Vegas to get to California, so hopefully they'll be safe."
McCarran Airport opened things back up this morning as the snow melted. But for many of these travelers, there was no making up for lost time. "We came back here at 7:00 and can't get on a flight until this afternoon," Moss said.
Another unexpected desert town hit by the storm: St. George. School was canceled in the Washington County District for the first time in about 10 years.
The district's assistant superintendent says the county has limited snow removal equipment, and school buses don't have snow tires or chains. It's similar to what happened in Las Vegas: people not used to the snow and not prepared.
School will be back in session tomorrow for Washington County students, and if you're flying to Vegas, or expecting to pick someone up, you're advised to check with the individual airline.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
