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Another round of monsoon storms hits Las Vegas Valley

Updated July 15, 2018 - 1:12 am

Another round of monsoon storms hit the Las Vegas Valley on Saturday night, causing roads to flood in some areas, at least one water rescue, and cancellation of an outdoor theater performance at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

Las Vegas Fire Department crews rescued a person who was in a wash near East Charleston Boulevard just west of Nellis Boulevard, according to a Fire Department tweet. A person was reported in a wash, according to a tweet.

The valley was under a flood advisory until 11:45 p.m. Saturday night.

One of the areas causing most concern Saturday night was located along Sahara Avenue from Rainbow Boulevard to Decatur Boulevard.

Las Vegas fire officials said crews are at Sahara and Decatur where about 18 inches of water was on the roads.

The Metropolitan Police Department closed the intersection of Sahara and Decatur until the water clearsed.

The department also tweeted that no lightning strikes or weather related incidents causing property damage or life threatening situations were reported in Las Vegas between 6 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

A sold-out audience at the Super Summer Theater’s performance of the musical “She Loves Me” fled an onslaught of rain around 8:20 p.m. Saturday, according to Henderson resident Don Ham, who was attending the performance at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

Many people screamed and others laughed during the monsoonal rain and lightning, Ham wrote in an email. Theater officials thought the rain would pass, but later canceled the show, saying they will look for another day to hold it, said Ham, a former Las Vegas Review-Journal editor.

Before the storms hit Las Vegas, more than 1.5 inches of rain poured over the course of an hour in the northernmost area of Lake Mead on Saturday night, the National Weather Service said.

A rain gauge in Overton recorded the inches, weather service meteorologist John Adair said. A half-inch of rain was collected in one five-minute span during the thunderstorm. Wind gusts reached up to 58 mph.

More storms were forming over Coyote Springs and could move across the Moapa Valley toward Overton and Lake Mead, Adair said Saturday night.

“It’s really intense rainfall,” Adair said, adding that there have been reports of downed tree limbs.

A severe thunderstorm and flash flood warning was also in effect near the Temple Bar Marina and the Lake Mead recreation area, according to a weather service tweet sent around 5:30 p.m.

Looking ahead

A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms will linger over the Las Vegas Valley for the next five days, although the likelihood of rainfall could increase Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

“The 10 percent could bump up with a little extra help if the pattern that we’re looking at holds,” meteorologist Alex Boothe said. “Tuesday and Wednesday is the next period when we could see more action here in the valley.”

Sunday’s high is expected to reach 106, followed by a high of 105 on Monday.

A 106-degree high on Tuesday will be paired with a 25 percent humidity index, making for “pretty muggy” conditions, Boothe said.

“With that moisture, it will feel really, really hot outside. It’s not going to be fun for anyone,” he added. “It will feel like a true 106.”

On a dry day when humidity sits at the valley’s average 5 percent index, a 106-degree day typically “will feel more like mid- to upper 90s,” Boothe said.

Wednesday’s high also is near 106.

While strong winds are not expected in the valley through Wednesday, skies will be partly cloudy throughout the valley.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Rio Lacanlale contributed to this report.

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