GREEN AND REDDISH CLOUDS PART OF A WEIRD NIGHT IN THE GHOST TOWN KNOWN AS LAS VEGAS
Colored clouds, including green in the upper left, gave the Strip a rare light show. (Photo: Norm Clarke)
An eerie scene settled over Las Vegas Boulevard on Thursday, replacing the splashy neon that created the city’s signature look.
MSNBC opened the Brian Williams Show with the jarring sight of a darkened ghost town hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Around 11 p.m. Thursday, over the Luxor hotel, a green haze temporarily glowed amid the clouds. Above the mid-Strip hotels, a reddish tinge appeared in a low-hanging cloud bank after a light rain storm moved through.
The Luxor Sky Beam created a green glow on Thursday after a light rain. (Photo: Norm Clarke)
Adding to the weirdness, a small fire broke out several blocks north of The Strat and hail fell in Summerlin.
Big fire happening here below in Las Vegas. Looks like it’s a motel pic.twitter.com/QtHEQOUA28
— Christopher Preciado (@CMPreciado) March 20, 2020
A day earlier, Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered an unprecedented 30-day statewide closure of casinos, restaurants, bars and other nonessential businesses.
The shutdown left the usually bustling Strip nearly deserted.
The Wynn hotels, padlocked earlier this week, were dark while the neighboring Palazzo was one of the few fully lit hotels
Las Vegas residents were bracing for dire predictions. Thursday night had the feel of a lull before the storm.