Spring storm brings windy, cooler weather to Las Vegas
The formidable low-pressure system that swept through Southern Nevada brought a peak wind gust to the region of 76 mph at Angel Peak in the Spring Mountains, the National Weather Service said early Tuesday.
Morgan Stessman, weather service meteorologist, said in the Las Vegas Valley a wind gust of 64 mph was measured in the Red Rock Canyon area on Monday. At the North Las Vegas Airport, the maximum wind speed was 61 mph, and at Harry Reid International Airport, the wind speed number hit 54 mph.
Henderson, meanwhile, saw a peak wind gust of 53 mph.
Despite the powerful gusts, preliminary reports indicate the damage caused by the system was relatively modest. A convenience store gas pump awning was damaged at the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Jones Boulevard. There were also sporadic reports of downed trees and damage to windows.
“It is definitely not as bad as it could have been,” Stessman said. “They’ve (the wind speeds) really come down over the last few hours.”
Today’s weather highlights will feature declining wind speeds and temperatures. The high for Tuesday was forecast to be 62 degrees, which is 15 degrees cooler than Monday.
On Monday, the National Weather Service had issued an advisory that a dust channel in Sandy Valley was moving northeast toward the Las Vegas Valley.
Cameras on Interstate 15 at the California-Nevada border showed powerful, frenzied winds. The National Weather Service had warned that there was less than a quarter-mile visibility with winds blowing at more than 60 mph.
Meanwhile, powerful 60 mph winds swept into western Nevada on Monday.
The National Weather Service in Reno said blowing dust cut down visibility across Pershing, Churchill and Mineral counties. It affected traffic on U.S. Highway 395 and Interstate 580 corridors. A tractor trailer was blown over on Highway 395 in California.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@gmail.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
— Review-Journal writer Marvin Clemons and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
