Extreme drought lingers in Las Vegas, even with February rain

By
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Pedestrians employ an umbrella for the first time in many months as they navigate the Strip whi ...

This week may have brought an end to the Las Vegas Valley’s second-longest dry streak in recorded history, but don’t expect the rain to reverse the region’s drought.

The Harry Reid International Airport weather station officially measured 0.01 of an inch of rain Thursday morning, and the National Weather Service said in an X post that the station had received over half an inch of rain by Thursday night.

However, almost all of Clark County remains under “extreme” drought conditions, with the northwestern corner under more intense “exceptional” drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Nearly 60 percent of Nevada was experiencing at least minimal drought as of the most recent update.

“A recent storm and an ongoing atmospheric river are bringing much needed precipitation to central and southern California and Nevada,” meteorologists wrote in a Thursday report for the National Integrated Drought Information System. “This will mitigate some of the most acute drought impacts, but drought conditions will remain.”

The rain is expected to continue Friday morning as the Pacific storm moves inland. Las Vegas’ previous measurable rain was recorded July 13.

Snowpack still behind

When it comes to water, Southern Nevadans, along with the rest of the 40 million people who live in the Colorado River Basin, are heavily reliant on snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains that eventually flows into Lake Mead.

Snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin sat at 81 percent of a historic median as of Thursday.

But not all of that snow will translate into water that reaches reservoirs. Forecasts show that water flows into Lake Powell were only expected to reach 75 percent of a historic median, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s report released at the beginning of February.

Along with Las Vegas’ showers, meteorologists forecast about 6 to 10 inches of snow accumulation on Southern Nevada’s Spring Mountains. Still, from a water perspective, conditions have not improved: Snowpack still was at zero percent of the historic median on Thursday.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.

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