Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Threat of storms in Las Vegas remains through tonight

Updated Monday, Aug. 19, 2013 | 4:03 p.m.

The Las Vegas Valley escaped more rain today, despite a forecast for more storms this afternoon.

The National Weather Service had predicted that storms would develop about noon or 1 p.m. today, but no storms had appeared as of 3:30 p.m., said Ryan Metzger, a meteorologist in the Las Vegas office.

There’s still a 30 percent chance of storms through 10 p.m., Metzger said. Several storms have developed south along Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, Calif.

“It’s just kind of hard to predict when and where those storms will fire up,” he said. “All the ingredients are there.”

A total of .17 inches of rain was recorded at McCarran International Airport on Sunday as thunderstorms brought locally heavy rain and wind to the valley, said Chris Stumpf, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

Some parts of the valley saw significantly more rain, leading to flooding and accidents.

The heaviest rains were in the southwest and parts of Henderson, where up to .79 inches of rain was recorded.

Any storms today could lead to more localized flooding, Stumpf said.

“These storms aren’t going to be moving very fast and that’s what can do it. They’ll sit and dump heavy rain over one place,” he said.

The Nevada Highway Patrol responded to about 50 accident calls Sunday from the time it started raining until midnight, a sharp increase from the 20 or so wrecks troopers would normally see in that period, Trooper Jeremie Elliott said.

A pair of single-vehicle accidents on Interstate 15 south of Henderson sent three people to the hospital, but no fatalities were reported Elliott said.

Many accidents were on freeway ramps, a common problem spot during heavy rains, he said.

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