Vegas Weather

Say Goodby, October

October 31 is an interesting day in Las Vegas. People travel from the land of shake, rattle, and roll to roll the dice in Las Vegas in hopes of returning to the land of milk and honey with heavier pockets than whence they came. Why today? Of course it is Halloween and for some reason folks all ages like to dress up and get silly. Freud had some interesting theories on why people assumed different identities. Of course, Freud had some interesting theories about lots of things. But even outside the Entertinment Capital of the World, folks cross dress and get silly today. Witness the Today show where people dressed cross gender, cross race, and even cross species. If you missed it, you missed one of the best Halloween celebrations.

Reason #2: October 31 in Las Vegas is not just a day to mark ghosts, ghouls, goblins, grinches, and Goths, it is the day that Nevada celebrates its statehood. You see, our state is known as the Silver State. Comstock lode and all that. But during the civil war the Union worried that the Confederacy would somehow get Nevada's silver to help the South's war effort, so in a move to keep those silver mines rolling, Nevada was granted statehood October 31, 1864. Hence, Nevada Day is celebrated today, right? Wrong! In the interest of 3-day weekends, the holiday is now celebrated before or after the actual date.

Reason #3 is that 10/31 is unofficially the day that summer ends and winter begins. You won't find it marked on any calendar, as it is celebrated only by Dr. Forgot and his followers. Ok, there are no followers, but in the 40 years that I've lived in Las Vegas I cannot remember a time that the weather was not in the 80s and beautiful enough on October 31 to wear shorts, sandals, and a tee shirt. On November 1 the wind begins to blow, tempratures drop, and the electric blanket gets turned on for the first time. In Vegas, folks, that is winter.

In New England they say, "If you don't like the weather, wait a while." In Pennsylvania fall is the time to get ready for deer hunting. In Las Vegas November 1 is the time to observe that crotchety species that sheds its skin and migrates west - the snowbird.

Dr. Forgot