Video shows helicopter rescue of couple from floodwaters
Metro conducted at least one swift water rescue in the Overton area because of flash flooding from Tuesday night storms.
A video of a Metro rescue helicopter lowering a rescue team member to the top of a half-submerged van south of Overton was posted Wednesday on the Northeast Area Resident Section Facebook page.
Metro reported on its Twitter account that an older couple had pulled off the highway to get some rest around 2 a.m. Wednesday. But a short time later, torrential rain sent floodwaters in their direction.
The Air Unit arrived just in time as the couple’s van filled with water to about chest level. They were safely hoisted out, the tweet said.
The north end of the Las Vegas Valley received the most rainfall from the overnight storms.
Rain gauges show .67 of an inch fell near Skye Canyon Park in the northwest valley with other Regional Flood Control district gauges in the area showing from .35 to .47 on an inch.
The northeast valley also received .16 of an inch at Craig Ranch Regional Park to .20 of an inch near Shadow Creek Golf Course.
The southeast of the valley saw widespread rainfall in a swath from Harry Reid International Airport to the east Henderson area ranging from .04 of an inch to .20 of an inch.
All totals are for rainfall in the past 12 hours as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Zooming into Las Vegas...
Storms in and around the #LasVegas Valley are producing quite the light show tonight!
Please view from the safety of your own home. If you can see lightning, it can see (& strike) you.
⚡ Thunder roars, go indoors.
⚡ See a flash, dash inside. https://t.co/SLXYS76gHO pic.twitter.com/nUF8OX2frz— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) September 14, 2022
At around 11:30 p.m., the NWS issued a flash flood warning that will be in place until around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday for the extreme northwest corner of the Las Vegas Valley.
“Up around Skye Canyon is getting hammered really hard right now,” meteorologist Clay Morgan said around 11:35 p.m. “We had one gauge up there that got a half an inch in about 15 minutes and it’s still coming down pretty good.”
The area northeast of Nellis Air Force Base received 0.59 inches of rain as of 11:50 p.m., according to the district.
“This stuff is moving, but it’s also redeveloping so they could see multiple rounds,” Morgan said of the northwest part of the valley.
Flash flooding throughout Clark County
The weather service issued flash flood warnings in north eastern and north central Clark County early Tuesday evening.
Morgan said there will be lower chances of rain Wednesday afternoon than there were on Tuesday.
“The drying trend is finally on its way,” Morgan said.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter. Review-Journal reporter David Wilson and digital content producer Taylor Lane contributed to this report.
