Morning storm knocks out power, triggers crashes throughout valley
Power had been restored to most households in the Las Vegas Valley by Friday evening after strong winds and rainfall swept into Southern Nevada in the morning, contributing to a series of crashes.
The power outages affecting more than 2,000 customers were reported as a weather front moved into Las Vegas at roughly 4 a.m., bringing strong winds. Nellis Air Force Base reported gusts as high as 56 mph, and McCarran International Airport clocked winds of 46 mph, said John Adair, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“This was the leading edge of rain that moved up from Southern California this morning,” Adair said. “There were no thunderstorms, but there is rain with strong winds aloft.”
The light steady rain caused multiple fender benders and crashes in the valley and may have contributed to a fatal crash on U.S. Highway 95 near Indian Springs.
The Regional Transportation Commission said there were crashes on the 215 Beltway at Decatur Boulevard. The Nevada Highway Patrol later said that a Clark County fire truck had overturned on the Beltway, causing significant traffic delays. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.
McCarran airport reported traffic lights were knocked out in the area of the airport, though power was restored “to all areas of the airport” by 9:30 a.m., it said later on Twitter.
Adair said a colder weather system will arrive in the valley Monday. As the week progresses, the National Weather Service said there is a 24 percent chance of a freeze next week near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
