Dip: University of Nevada, Las Vegas students Ryan Klorman, left, and Markus Adams, relax on inflatable pool toys in floodwater in a parking lot at UNLV in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
Slip: Eleanor Brown falls while crossing a flooded street in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm and flash-flood warnings before and after almost an inch of rain was reported at McCarran International Airport just before 2 p.m.
Departures were postponed and arrivals were delayed after the airport ordered a stop on fueling operations during lightning strikes, airport spokeswoman Linda Healey said.
Firefighters responded to more than 20 calls about people in stalled cars, county spokesman Dan Kulin said. A Las Vegas police helicopter was dispatched during the height of the storm to pluck several people from swamped vehicles on area roadways, Officer Bill Cassell said.
After responding to numerous 911 calls, officials in Clark County, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Las Vegas said Tuesday there were no confirmed reports of serious injuries.
National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Staudenmaier said more than 1.75 inches of rain were reported in downtown Las Vegas.
The rainfall amounts put the region on pace to exceed the 4.5 inches of rain it normally gets in a year, he said.
Cross: Taylor Bradley walks across a flooded street behind the Flamingo hotel and casino in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
Swim: People push a stalled car off of a flooded street in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012. Intense thunderstorms drenched parts of the Southwest on Tuesday, delaying flights and stranding motorists in the Las Vegas area and flooding two mobile home parks in Southern California
However, National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Sukup said the Nevada showers weren't part of the same storm system that doused parts of Southern California.
There, a thunderstorm that dropped more than the average annual rainfall on parts of the Coachella Valley in one night alone caused flooding at two mobile home parks, forced road closures and dampened a school, officials said Tuesday.
The early morning thunderstorm stalled for six to eight hours over Mecca and Thermal, two towns at the southern tip of the Coachella Valley 150 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Thermal is about eight miles from Indio, Calif., where the annual Coachella Music Festival is held.
The storm dropped 5.51 inches of rain near Mecca and 3.23 inches of rain near Thermal, meteorologist Mark Moede said. The average annual rainfall in Thermal is just shy of 3 inches, he said.
Wade: University of Nevada, Las Vegas students Ryan Klorman, top, and Markus Adams, relax on inflatable pool toys in floodwater at UNLV in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
'That's an amazing amount of rain,' Moede said. 'It's unusual anywhere to get a storm that sits stationary for five to eight hours. The fact that it occurred in the southern part of the Coachella Valley is even more unusual because it's typically a very arid part of the country.'
In Thermal, the downpour flooded the Desert Mobile Home Park better known as Duroville, causing the park to lose one of its wells and creating concerns about overflow from sewage ponds used to treat waste, said Ray Smith, a Riverside County spokesman.
Disaster: Martha Manangan, left, stands in her flooded home in Mecca, Calif. after a sudden heavy rain flooded the area early, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
Gone: Two men stand in near knee deep water in a mobile home park in Mecca, Calif. after a sudden heavy rain flooded the area early, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
3 comments:
Thanks for the photos - woah, who'd have thought this could happen in Vegas??
I'm goin to Vegas on Sept 27th. Not to be self centered but I really hope all is back to normal by then. I've been looking forward to this trip since this March. Oh please let it be back to normal!
I was there for that storm my wife and i were trapped in PH casino. After the rain was finished the strip was fine. Just a little wet.
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