LAS VEGAS - LAS VEGAS was grappling with the aftermath of a once-in-a-generation snowstorm on Thursday which coated the famous icons of Las Vegas and forced the closure of the city's airport.

The city's public school system was closed because of snowfall for the first time in nearly 30 years after several inches of snow fell on the Nevada gambling haven on Wednesday, halting traffic at McCarran International Airport.

By early on Thursday, the airport and all the highways into Las Vegas had reopened and brilliant sunny skies reduced the white accumulation to massive puddles and constant drippings from rooftops across the city.

The mountain range to the west, which received 11 inches, appeared as though covered in a deluge of sugar.

'This is the most snow we've had in Las Vegas in almost 30 years,' said Mr Chris Stachelski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. 'It's a significant historical event'.

The novelty drew newlywed couples to pose for pictures in front of the snow-capped Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and local media websites were buried in snapshots sent in of bowed palm-tree fronds, snowmen with dice for eyes and pets frolicking in the bizarre ground covering.

This being Las Vegas, the local newspaper even quizzed local sports books operators as to the odds - set at 10,000 to 1 by one Las Vegas bookie - on the likelihood that snow could accumulate on the Las Vegas Strip.

Wednesday's snowfall in the valley also was the most since 1979, when 7.8 inches fell in a 48-hour period, beginning Jan 30.

The record was set in January 1949, with 9.7 inches falling over two days, according to the weather service.

School district officials cancelled school for Thursday late on Wednesday when it was unclear how much snow would accumulate.

There are virtually no snow plows or salt trucks in Las Vegas, which sits in the driest desert in North America, to clear roads in time for the start of class, they said. -- AFP

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