Thunderstorms still possible, sunshine returning

By Mary Manning

Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 | 7:48 a.m.

While a 4-year-old boy and his mother recover from being struck by lightning on Thursday, the rest of Southern Nevada can expect another humid day with the possibility of more thunderstorms.

The boy and his mother were watching an intense thunderstorm that started near their home at Valle Verde and Sunset Road when a lightning bolt struck the child and knocked him unconscious. His mother rushed to pick him up and told Henderson Fire Department paramedics that she felt paralyzed on one side of her body. The boy was taken to Sienna Hospital on Eastern Avenue where he was reported conscious and breathing Thursday night, said Katherine Hooper, spokeswoman for the Henderson Fire Department.

The National Weather Service expects isolated to scattered thunderstorms mainly in the mountains surrounding the Las Vegas Valley. In contrast to more than an inch of rain falling in Green Valley and eastern Las Vegas on Thursday, forecasters said that local flooding is possible if thunderstorms develop. The high temperatures should be about 102 degrees with lows in the 80s.

Then a slow drying trend occurs over the weekend with temperatures rising near 104 degrees, forecasters said.

Las Vegas should dry out through the early part of the week, but a return on moist air could trigger more thunderstorms by Thursday.