Flood advisories placed in Las Vegas Valley
Roads closed and streets flooded Sunday afternoon after storms moved in from both the north and south and blanketed most of the Las Vegas Valley with rain.
Flood advisories were issued for south and southwest valley areas until 9:30 p.m. Sunday by the National Weather Service.
The advisories followed heavy rain near Rhodes Ranch and Mountain’s Edge, the weather service said, advising of the possibility of flowing water. Boulder City was hit with heavy rain at about the same time, shortly followed by rain in the central and east valley.
The weather first moved in Sunday afternoon from both north and south of Las Vegas. Traffic on south Interstate 15 was diverted onto the median in Jean, about 30 miles south of Las Vegas, after the road was flooded from heavy storms that began about 3:30 p.m., Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Loy Hixson said. More than 2 inches of rain were recorded by the weather service.
During the flooding, vehicles on that stretch of I-15 moved as slowly as 15 mph, according to traffic reports.
State Route 161, which is the surface street that crosses underneath I-15 in Jean, remained closed at 7 p.m. due to flooding. Hixson said some cars had stalled, but no lives were in danger.
Within the valley, storms hit the northwest and produced heavy rain, small hail and wind gusts of nearly 50 mph, the weather service reported. Between 50 and 60 lightning strikes were recorded Sunday evening, meteorologist Chris Outler said, with rainfall measured at less than half an inch.
Lovell Canyon, southwest of Las Vegas, was under a flash flood watch until 5:30 p.m. Sunday, and the weather service said the rain also affected Blue Diamond Road.
Additionally, a flash flood warning was issued just before 3 p.m. for Lee Canyon, north of Mount Charleston, until 5:45 p.m. It was extended until 6:30 p.m., and the area affected was expanded to include Kyle Canyon Road near U.S Highway 95.
Temperatures in the valley Sunday night hovered about 80 degrees, and the rain was expected to continue into the night. Similar conditions were forecast for Monday, with storms moving in from Arizona.
For more weather and watch information, visit www.weather.gov.
Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites. Contact Annalise Little at alittle@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391. Find her on Twitter: @annaliselittle_.