Winds down power lines, flip semitrucks and ground flights in Las Vegas — PHOTOS

High winds on Thursday grounded airline flights, flipped semi-trucks, toppled light poles onto cars and knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning until 10 p.m. and a dust advisory until 11 p.m. in the valley Thursday. Officials with the weather service, Clark County Fire Department and NV Energy warned the public to stay inside Thursday.

Some parts of the valley experienced wind gusts between 60 and 70 mph during the peak period Thursday afternoon. At about 2:15 p.m., the valley’s strongest recorded wind gusts clocked in at 84 mph near the 215 Beltway and Desert Inn Road, the weather service said.

Winds are expected to start calming down Friday, with breezes blowing between 15 and 25 mph. Gusts will hit up to 40 mph, the weather service said.

Saturday should “still be pretty breezy most of the day,” said meteorologist Caleb Steele, but conditions are expected to settle by Sunday.

Gusts on Thursday at McCarran International Airport peaked at 60 mph. Despite strong winds wreaking havoc in and around the valley, “we didn’t come close to the March record gusts,” meteorologist Kate Guillet said.

On March 21, 1984, wind gusts of 82 mph were recorded at McCarran International Airport, she said. The highest gusts ever at the airport were recorded on Aug. 8, 1989, at 90 mph.

Arrival delays into the airport Thursday afternoon averaged an estimated 1½ hours because of the wind, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. By 7:30 p.m., the average delay time had jumped to two hours and 51 minutes.

Starting about 1 p.m., flights in and out of Las Vegas were grounded “intermittently throughout the day” as weather conditions improved or worsened, McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said.

Nine flights were diverted to other airports because of the weather, Crews said.

The largest number of people without power Thursday was reported by NV Energy about 4:30 p.m., with more than 48,000 southern Nevadans in the dark. According to NV Energy spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht, the outages were wind-related.

NV Energy sent out all its crews Thursday to restore power and repair downed power lines “as quickly as possible in the safest manner,” Schuricht said.

Downed power lines were reported throughout the Las Vegas Valley on Thursday. Power poles knocked over on Koval Lane caused major traffic for several hours, officials said.

Just after 3:35 p.m., the Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire departments were called to Koval Lane for reports of power poles down between Flamingo Road and Harmon Avenue. Metro officer Michael Rodriguez said poles and live wires had fallen on top of several vehicles, trapping motorists inside.

As of 5 p.m., the fire department had extricated 15 people from seven vehicles affected by the downed wires. Two people were transported to a hospital with minor injures, department spokesman Troy Tuke said.

The people extricated were waiting at the nearby Wyndham Grand Desert Resort at 265 E. Harmon Ave. while fire crews worked to clear their vehicles from the roadway, Tuke said.

Tuke warned people to remain inside their vehicle if they come in contact with live wires to avoid electrocution.

Close by, the 4178 Koval Lane Ellis Island Casino also went dark.

“Everybody was scrambling to make sure the money was secure,” said tourist Gene Barlowe, who was inside the casino when power cut out.

The strong winds also caused traffic delays on Nevada highways. A warning of high-profile vehicle rollover risk and low visibility was issued after the Nevada Highway Patrol reported three rollover crashes involving semi-trucks Thursday afternoon.

One of the three rollover crashes blocked all lanes of Interstate 15 near the St. Rose Parkway exit for about three hours, the Highway Patrol said. The freeway was reopened about 5:40 p.m.

On the Strip, a construction wall that collapsed about 4 p.m. at the Monte Carlo closed the food court and part of the casino for several hours. One person suffered minor injuries and was treated on site, according to MGM Resorts International spokeswoman Yvette Monet. As of 7 p.m., the areas were open again after construction workers repaired the wall and cleaned up debris.

At the same time down the street, the Fountains of Bellagio were turned off for the evening as a precaution.

“When winds exceed a certain speed, fountain operators shut down the fountains as a standard procedure,” Monet said.

At 7 p.m., the Las Vegas Monorail system was also shut down amid more power outages. The monorail reopened about 40 minutes later after power was restored, according to spokeswoman Erika Pope.

In downtown Las Vegas, the wind toppled the sign outside Main Street Station. An electrical technician said he expected the sign to be removed Thursday night.

Off the Strip, high winds caused cancellation or suspension of several high school sports events, including a baseball game between Mohave and Chaparral high schools. That game was postponed about 20 minutes before the first pitch when the cover of the visiting dugout blew off, according to Chaparral baseball coach David Soto.

“That’s probably one of the best calls I’ve made on the field,” he quipped.

Review-Journal reporters Blake Apgar, Justin Emerson and Max Michor contributed. Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.