Day of threatening Las Vegas storms ends as sunset nears

By
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Clouds hang over downtown Las Vegas Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Jou ...

Storms that popped up in mostly higher terrain areas around the Las Vegas area for several hours Wednesday have come to an abrupt end.

In the last warning, Pahrump and Sandy Valley were under a flash flood warning until 8 p.m. But the rather strong cell along the Nevada-California state line disappeared about 6 p.m.

The National Weather Service said heavy rain, flash flooding, winds of 40 mph or more and frequent lightning were possible.

“We had a lot of activity through the whole day from the Spring Mountains to Searchlight,” meteorologist Ashley Nickerson said. “With sunset coming, there’s not a lot of energy for storms to feed on.”

The western ridges of the Las Vegas Valley received considerable rain in the afternoon.

Most of the major rain activity moved to southern Clark County, northwest Arizona and southeastern California as of 4:30 p.m.

Southern Clark County, including Primm and Searchlight, were under a flash flood warning until 6:30 p.m.

Heavy rain, lightning, nuisance flooding and other potential damage was listed in a weather service tweet. The advisory also covered parts of San Bernardino County in California.

As of 3 p.m., .67 of an inch had fallen in 90 minutes at a gauge at Blue Diamond Ridge South, basically the second line of mountain ridges west of Summerlin.

And, .28 of an inch had fallen near Mesa Ridge, the first line of mountain tops. A gauge just south of Calico Basin has received .43 of an inch in the past three hours.

The rain must be sort of the “third time is a charm” since the valley saw heavy clouds Monday and Tuesday, but did not receive much if any precipitation.

The Wednesday forecast listed rain as a 30 percent chance in the valley, with a high of 96 and low of 82.

Showers earlier today dropped about .20 inches along a few parts of the 215 Beltway in Henderson.

Hikers and campers were warned to avoid streams and washes and to know where they are relative to these areas as they can become deadly during heavy rain.

Heavy rain was ongoing in Mohave County in Arizona and led to flash flooding and difficult driving conditions.

The agency said “deep moisture will fuel thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rainfall.”

The pattern of monsoonal moisture is not expected to end anytime soon. Chances for rain remain in the valley’s forecast for the rest of the week.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter. Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tmflane on Twitter.

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