Showers, thunderstorms drench Las Vegas area

By Dave Toplikar

Published Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 | 6:10 a.m.

Updated Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 | 5:17 p.m.

(See Monday's weather story, More showers, thunderstorms moving into Las Vegas.)

Showers and thunderstorms rumbled through the Las Vegas Valley Sunday, leaving behind some measurable rain and even some rainbows visible in the southwest valley. More moisture is expected to head in tonight through the next few days, according to the National Weather Service.

By 5 p.m., McCarran International Airport recorded .01 of an inch of rain, and a trace of rain was reported at North Las Vegas Airport Henderson Executive Airport and Nellis Air Force Base.

Showers affected much of southern Clark County, especially Interstate 15 between Primm and Sloan, the weather service said.

A flood advisory was in effect for most of the afternoon for southern Clark County, expiring at 4:30 p.m. No reports of flooding had been received, forecasters said. A flash flood warning was expected to expire at 5:30 p.m. for central Mohave County in Arizona, just east of Lake Mead.

A strong Pacific storm brought the rain into the area today. It's expected to linger through much of the week, creating a good chance of rain showers, high elevation snow and thunderstorm to the region, the weather service said.

There will be plenty of cloud cover, with temperatures cooling to a little below normal by Wednesday, the weather service said.

The best chance for showers and thunderstorms will be over the Sierra, where some snow accumulation is possible at the highest elevations, forecasters said. Some storms cold produce brief heavy rain and gusty winds, they said.

Forecasters say there is potential for locally moderate to heavy rain Monday through Wednesday, but they haven't made a solid prediction on where that will occur.

At 5 p.m. around the valley, temperatures were 73 degrees at McCarran, 73 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 74 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 70 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures reached a high of around 84 degrees today at McCarran. The normal high for today's date is 81 degrees and the record high was 94 degrees, set in 1991.

Monday's morning low will be 66 degrees and Monday's high will climb to 80 degrees, they said.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 72 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 56 degrees. The record low was 38 degrees, set in 1938.