Santa is bringing more than just gifts to the Las Vegas Valley this Christmas—he’s bringing a wet, possibly snowy holiday. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the valley, starting early Wednesday morning and lasting through Christmas morning. The watch covers Southern Nevada, northwest Arizona, and eastern California, with officials warning that flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
Widespread rain is expected to hit the area Christmas Eve and continue into Christmas Day, with snow likely for the Spring Mountains. However, forecasters say it’s still too early to tell how much snow the mountains will receive.
A strong storm system developing off the California coast is expected to bring deep moisture to the region, arriving by Christmas Eve. This marks a significant change from the dry and warm December the valley has experienced so far, with highs in the low 70s and no recorded precipitation.
If Las Vegas ends December without rain, it will be only the seventh time since 1937 that the city has had a rainless December, with the most recent occurrences in 2024 and 2017. Despite the dry start to winter, a wet November brought annual rainfall at Harry Reid International Airport to 4.96 inches, above the average of 4.18 inches. The National Weather Service says 2025 is on track to be the wettest year in Las Vegas since 2019, when a wet winter pushed the yearly total to 6.87 inches.