A rare snowfall blanketed Las Vegas on Wednesday, canceling all flights in and out of the city, snarling traffic and dusting palm trees and marquees along the Las Vegas Strip with accumulations that were expected to reach 3 inches overnight.

Other locations were forecast to receive as much as 8 inches of snow in the second winter storm this week to drop snow on the desert city.

Snow piled up around the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign on the south end of the Strip, as visitors parked and posed for pictures wearing hooded jackets. In other parts of the Las Vegas valley, snowfall toppled trees, blanketed rooftops and delighted residents who rarely get to see winter weather.

“Sometimes you have to travel to the mountains to see the snow, and now you don’t have to,” said Jose Villeda, 38, as he stuck his tongue out to catch snowflakes outside of Lavo, a restaurant and nightclub at the Palazzo hotel-casino.

Snowfall is common in nearby mountains hills, but not on the Strip or surrounding neighborhoods.