METAR readings over the past 5 hours. those of you familiar with the area, 67B (Boulder City airport) is closed. US highway 95 into Boulder City is closed, as it is down to KIFP. I-15 into California is closed.
Flights have either taken serious delays, or diverted to places. VIR43 from EGKK diverted to LAX, which is also taken a pounding, and running East Operations today.
All Southwest Airlines flights out of KLAS have been cancelled. Other airlines are expected to follow.
In all my time living in Vegas, I’ve never seen it like this. There has only been one other time I’ve seen KLAS close, and this is coming close to being the second. Latest METAR:
KLAS 180110Z 02003KT 2SM -SN BR VV005 01/M01 A2982 RMK AO2 VIS E 1 P0002 $
KLAS 180056Z 00000KT 1SM -SN BR VV005 00/M01 A2983 RMK AO2 SLP113 VIS E 3/4 VIS W 1 1/2 P0012 T00001011 $
Keep in mind that ILS 25L, ILS/DME 25R, and ILS/DME 1L are not certified for Cat. II or Cat. III approaches, so when they’re under minimums, that’s it.
Visibility issues aside… The main reason for all of the cancellations is that LAS doesn’t maintain the resources to de-ice. You can count on the fact that every aircraft sitting on the ramps at LAS, in this precip, is contaminated with ice and snow.
I had one pax last night that came from LAS from AA who transfered her over to us. She said she was planning a warm vacation before Christmas. Of course, she was more shocked that her bag beat her to DAY.
