Record rainfall dampens Las Vegas
A record rainfall hit the Las Vegas Valley on Saturday but caused no apparent damage, other than a lot of filthy vehicles.
The .07-inch rainfall record for April 25 set in 1998 was more than tripled with McCarran International Airport reporting .26 inches of rain, meteorologist Chris Outler said.
The National Weather Service office, near Interstate 15 and Route 160, said it received 0.35 inches of rain in less than three hours.
Wind speeds reached 47 mph at the North Las Vegas Airport about 5 p.m., the agency said.
Earlier Saturday, meteorologist Andrew Gorelow projected winds between 30 and 40 mph, with wind gusts reaching up to 45 mph.
The Weather Service issued a wind advisory at Lake Mead that is set to expire at 7 p.m. today.
The storm brought moderate to heavy rain and pea-sized hail to downtown Las Vegas, the agency said.
It also brought hail and winds gusting to 55 mph to Pahrump, Gorelow said.
“Severe lightning strikes” were reported for 15 minutes in Red Rock Canyon about 4:30 p.m., the agency reported.
Gorelow warned motorists on Saturday about slick roads in the valley, something that happens when it doesn’t rain for a while.
There were no reports of weather-related crashes in the valley.
A motorcyclist died in a North Las Vegas crash on Saturday afternoon, but it was too early to tell if rain was a contributing factor, police spokesman Aaron Patty said.
No more rain is forecast for today, but the day will be breezy, according to the weather service. Temperatures are expected to reach 74 degrees, with lows in the upper 50s.
Then a big warm-up begins. Temperatures are forecast to hit 83 on Monday then the low 90s by Wednesday and the rest of the week, meteorologist Clay Morgan said.
The normal high and low for late April is low 80s and upper 50s. Saturday’s high was 71.
Review-Journal writer Chris Kudialis contributed to this report. Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter
