Roads south of Boulder City closed briefly for dust storm
The polar cold front and associated wind have caused a dust storm warning to be issued for Eldorado Valley southwest of Boulder City.
U.S. Highway 95 south of Boulder City and state Route 165 were closed briefly about 11 a.m. Monday, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.
10:25AM - Dust Storm WARNING until 11:45am for El Dorado Valley south of Boulder City. Near zero vis, US-95 is CLOSED. #NVwx pic.twitter.com/QjVb9doT8u
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) October 26, 2020
The closures were ordered at 10:30 a.m. by the NHP for “life-threatening” travel conditions.
The National Weather Service said visibility was less than a quarter of a mile with winds in excess of 50 mph.
The roads were reopened about 40 minutes later.
Troopers were urging driving caution when traveling outside Las Vegas because wind conditions could shift without notice, according to an NHP tweet.
#update US95 at mile marker 52 and SR165 are now open. Use caution as driving conditions can change with little to no warning outside of the Las Vegas city limits during high winds. #drivesafenv #nhpsocomm
— NHP Southern Command (@NHPSouthernComm) October 26, 2020
Gusts up to 59 mph
Overnight, wind gusts reached 59 mph around midnight as the cold front descended into Southern Nevada.
With a reading of 43 at 4:55 a.m. Monday at McCarran International Airport, the overnight low was expected to be around 41, National Weather Service meteorologist Jenn Varian said.
Several areas in the Las Vegas Valley were reporting temperatures in the upper 30s early Monday.
The gusts near 60 mph were recorded at Hoover Dam and Laughlin about midnight, Varian said.
A Monday high of 58 is forecast, 2 degrees above the record low of 56 set Oct. 26, 1951.
It had been 200 days since the temperature dipped below 50 degrees at McCarran, Varian said, adding that Monday is the 189th day without measurable rain.
The normal high for late October is 78.
The windy conditions will remain through the day Monday.
“It should die down after sunset, but the day will be windy,” Varian said.
The cold front brought a chance of rainfall, but Varian said that chance has pretty much passed.
“It will gradually warm up back to normal during the work week,” Varian said. “We’ll be back to the upper 70s by the weekend.”
The Tuesday forecast calls for a high near 68, with a 74 projected Wednesday.
Freeze/red flag warnings
A freeze warning covers a good portion of southern Clark County outside Las Vegas from 1 a.m. until 8 a.m. Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to fall to about 32.
A red flag warning covers the area until 9 p.m. Monday with any fire likely to spread rapidly because of high winds, low humidity and extremely dry conditions.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.
