Spring Mountains get soaked

Ominous clouds hovered over the Las Vegas Valley on Monday, drenching Mount Charleston before unleashing a downpour on urban Clark County, according to the National Weather Service.

Barry Pierce, a weather service meteorologist in Las Vegas, said more than 2 inches of rain hit the Spring Mountain Range. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area recorded measurable precipitation of less than one-tenth of an inch of rain.

Pierce noted that it is monsoon season.

Today's forecast calls for more of the same, with scattered thunderstorms and a 20 percent chance of rain.

Rainfall in the valley started about 9 p.m. west of Interstate 15, said Brian Fuis, a weather service spokesman in Las Vegas.

As of 10:25 p.m., Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard had received the most rainfall in the valley, nearly four-tenths of an inch, Fuis said.

Measurable rainfall was recorded as far south as Henderson.

Fuis said a small-stream flood advisory was in effect for the Las Vegas Valley until 12:30 a.m.

Elaine Sanchez, a spokeswoman for McCarran International Airport, said planes stopped receiving fuel about 9:28 p.m. because of lightning within a five-mile radius of the airport.

The storm had dropped almost two-tenths of an inch of rain at the airport as of 10:25 p.m.

Although the Mount Charleston area bore the brunt of the storms, Pierce said on Monday that today "could be the opposite."

On Mount Charleston late Monday morning, one storm cell dumped about three-quarters of an inch of rain in 40 minutes, but there were no reports of serious damage or flooding, said Judy Suing, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service at Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.

A crew from the Nevada Department of Transportation used a snowplow to clear rocks from the road to the popular Mary Jane Falls hiking trail in Kyle Canyon, Suing said. The downpour also washed rocks and debris onto other Mount Charleston roads, but no closures were reported.

Suing said forest service firefighters remain on alert for wildfires caused by lightning strikes. Firefighters over the weekend successfully contained most of the 30 fires sparked by lightning in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.

The high Monday in Las Vegas was 103 degrees. The high for today is expected to be 109 degrees.

Southbound Interstate 15 was closed Monday night at the Flamingo Road exit by a semi that jackknifed and ruptured its 100-gallon fuel tank, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Sgt. Kevin Honea said the accident wasn't weather-related, but "there are things you can do on a dry road that you can't do when it's wet."

Review-Journal reporter Henry Brean contributed to this report. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.