Cars and trucks drive through run-off on Sunset Road near Jones Boulevard after thunderstorm dropped heavy rain and hail in the area Thursday, June 30, 2016.
Published Friday, July 1, 2016 | 4:27 p.m.
Updated Friday, July 1, 2016 | 9:10 p.m.
A day after heavy thunderstorms and hail pounded the Las Vegas Valley, killing two women, crews were busy cleaning up junk from flood channels and washes, including one where one of the women was found dead Friday morning under a heavy pile of debris, officials said.
Both women were swept away in washes Thursday and died because of it, Regional Flood Control District spokeswoman Erin Neff said Friday night.
"The first day of flash flood season is a hard lesson to take as we think of the two women lost and the brave rescue attempts that occurred," the agency tweeted Friday night.
On Thursday, golfers at the Las Vegas National Golf Course, near Viking Road and Spencer Street, pulled out a woman who was carried downstream in the Tropicana Wash, Neff said.
Firefighters had spotted her farther upstream and attempted to pull her out, but were unsuccessful. At one point she grabbed on to a rope, but let go, Neff said. The woman was taken to Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center and transferred to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where she died on Friday.
The other woman was found dead about 6:50 a.m. Friday in a wash near Mandalay Bay Road and Giles Street, Metro Police said.
The women’s identities and official causes of death will be released by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
The Clark County Fire Department rescued eight adults, three dogs and one cat from swift water during the storm, officials said.
Six of the adults and the two women killed were homeless, Neff said. The deaths “underscore what we’ve been trying to say,” Neff said. “These washes are not places to be,” noting that flash floods occur and can turn severe with little notice.
The storm spit out a record amount of rain for the day — 0.47 inches at McCarran International Airport — beating out a 1984 record for the date of 0.10 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Rainfall varied throughout the valley, with Mountain’s Edge and Green Valley in Henderson getting more than an inch, weather service meteorologist Chris Outler said. Nearly 2 inches fell near Sunset Park, while northwest parts of the valley got little or no rain.
With the rain also came winds peaking at 66 mph and hail, which was reported to be the size of golf balls in some areas, Outler said.
This evening, there is a 30 percent chance of rain, Outler said. “We’re thinking there might be thunderstorms developing late afternoon to sunset,” he said.
Chances of rain drop for the holiday weekend, with a 30 percent chance Saturday and no rain expected Sunday or Monday.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy