Valley, Mount Charleston get more rain, but no major flooding
A flash flood warning for northwestern Clark County to cover Mount Charleston expired at 6:45 p.m., said the National Weather Service. Flash flooding was expected. A gauge at Harris Springs recorded .28 of an inch within 60 minutes. Other measurements in the area were a bit less.
Heads up! A new Flash Flood Warning has been issued for areas just downhill from Lee Canyon. Very heavy rain is occurring near the Lee Canyon turnoff and US-95. #nvwx pic.twitter.com/qGtOJJ4XKF
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 24, 2023
A second flash flood warning expired at 6:15 p.m. and covered the Red Rock National Recreation Area, Blue Diamond, Rocky Gap Campground and Spring Mountain Ranch. It also included Nevada Route 159 in Red Rock Canyon between mile marker 5 and mile marker 11.
“It will continue off and on until about 7 p.m. but hopefully dissipate when the heat drops,” meteorologist Marc Austin said. “We’re keeping a close eye on it.”
Mount Charleston could be a potential target for the storm, and more rain is the last thing residents there need after getting hit with between 6 and 8 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Hilary that cut power and water and washed out several roads.
All power was back on at Mount Charleston as of Thursday morning, but the U.S. Forest Service said the Spring Mountains were closed until further notice and advised people to stay out of the area as recovery efforts go on.
Thursday afternoon, some heavy cells were over the south end of the Spring Mountains and another big cell was moving northeast up Interstate 15 toward Henderson, according to radar.
A few places in the south end of the valley received heavy rain with .39 of an inch falling within 30 minutes at the very south end of Southern Highlands. A few gauges in Spring Valley logged .31 to .63 of an inch.
A later cell was dropping up to three-tenths of an inch in the south Summerlin area as of 8 p.m.
“It is all pushing northeast so it could be wet like last night,” Austin said, referring to one cell that moved for Henderson across the Las Vegas airport, up the Strip and into North Las Vegas, dropping 1.34 inches in less than an hour near Desert Inn and Las Vegas Boulevard.
At least one person was rescued from a canal at East Flamingo and Koval Lane while others was reportedly lost. In a different incident, a few other people were reportedly washed away near East Sahara Avenue and Nellis Boulevard.
Of the handful of people that were reported to have been caught in the flood channels none were found by firefighters.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on X.