Thunderstorms dumped hail and up to one inch of rain across parts of the Las Vegas Valley on Friday, triggering flash flood warnings that stretched from the Strip and Fremont Street to Henderson and Lake Las Vegas, knocking out power to more than 1,600 customers and slowing flights at Harry Reid International Airport.
The National Weather Service's Las Vegas office issued a flash flood warning until 3:45 p.m. covering eastern Henderson and Lake Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Rainfall in that area hit 0.50 inches in just a 30-minute span shortly after noon, and hail also came down.
A flash flood warning covered central Clark County, where up to 1 inch of rain had fallen, the Review-Journal reported.
Warnings Stretch From the Strip to Lake Las Vegas
A second flash flood warning covered a broad swath of the valley's urban core. Per KTNV, the warning for southwestern Clark County included Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Fremont Street, east Las Vegas, Nellis Air Force Base, the Strip, Paradise, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Stratosphere and UNLV. A separate warning was in effect for central Clark County until at least 3:45 p.m., the station reported, covering Henderson, Lake Las Vegas, Las Vegas Bay, Las Vegas Bay Campground and Railroad Pass.
According to KLAS 8 News Now, the broader flood advisory also listed Aliante, Green Valley, Spring Valley, North Las Vegas Airport, Allegiant Stadium and Harry Reid International Airport among the impacted areas, with a separate flash flood warning for much of that same footprint in place until 4 p.m. Doppler radar showed heavy rain moving through the valley as the National Weather Service warned of life-threatening flash flooding, though the station said only minor flooding was expected as the rain pushed through. KLAS also reported that the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Harry Reid International Airport until 2 p.m.
Travel Snarled, Power Knocked Out
The storm's effects rippled across the valley's infrastructure. The same KTNV report noted that staffing issues combined with the severe thunderstorms to disrupt travel at Harry Reid, with departures delayed by an average of 15 minutes and arrivals running about 23 minutes behind schedule.
Power losses followed close behind. As of 1:30 p.m., NV Energy's outage map listed at least 1,620 customers without power near Eastern Avenue and Bonanza Road, per the same KTNV account.
A Valley Built for Flash Floods
Friday's storm landed in a valley where even modest rain can turn dangerous fast. A technical flood report from the Clark County Regional Flood Control District notes that the Las Vegas Valley is especially prone to flash flooding because of its geologic and orographic makeup, and that generally only 0.50 to 1.0 inch of rain in a short window is enough to trigger it — thresholds Friday's storm cleared in multiple spots. The same report warns that continued population growth in the valley will put more residents in the path of future flooding.
The valley's history includes a far more catastrophic benchmark. On July 8, 1999, torrential rain dropped 1.5 to 3.0 inches across much of the valley in just 60 to 90 minutes, according to the flood control district's report, causing more than $20 million in property damage, killing two people and prompting over 200 swift-water rescues by Las Vegas and Clark County fire crews.
More recent storms have shown the risk hasn't gone away. A flash flood sent water rushing through streets near The LINQ Promenade on Oct. 11, according to ABC 3340. And in August, a storm clogged a roadside grate with debris and garbage in northeast Las Vegas, flooding Carey Avenue and Toiyabe Street and pushing sewage and dirty rainwater into homes, as reported by Yahoo News. One resident told the outlet it took three days for the water to fully recede. Clark County Public Works said engineers are working on revisions to address the ponding of water and alleviate the flooding issues in that area, according to the same report.
KLAS advised drivers to remember to turn around and not drown if they encounter flooded roadways, and the station invited readers to submit weather photos and video once it was safe to do so.
