Hoover Dam sees waterfalls during summer storm

The monsoonal rains that returned to Southern Nevada on Monday brought with them a special treat: waterfalls at the Hoover Dam.

In a video posted to Facebook, at least three waterfalls were seen forming next to the Hoover Dam at the Nevada/Arizona border on Monday afternoon.

It was a welcome sight, because the Las Vegas area has seen little rain in 2022 so far. And last week, a transformer fire at the dam shot plumes of smoke into the air but did not injure anyone or threaten the power grid, officials said.

The dam was built during the Great Depression, drawing more than 5,000 workers to the Southern Nevada desert. President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially dedicated the dam on Sept. 30, 1935.

Unfortunately, the reservoir formed by the dam, Lake Mead, is shrinking due to a megadrought. The lake is filled to about 27 percent of capacity.