Sunnier days expected by weekend

Wednesday, May 6, 1998 | 9:41 a.m.

The spring storms that spawned tornadoes in California slammed into the Las Vegas Valley Tuesday.

Thunder, lightning and rain showers started in the Red Rock Canyon Recreational Area about 3 p.m.

The National Weather Service has predicted showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings through Friday with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

Blame the stormy weather on a low pressure system that cut off the main storm track headed for the Pacific Northwest, says Barry Pierce, a meteorologist based at the National Weather Service office near Blue Diamond.

"It's not going anywhere fast," Pierce said.

The low pressure will gradually move through Southern California on Thursday and then into Arizona by Friday. Southern Nevada's weather Friday should remain partly cloudy with mountain showers and thunderstorms.

While May is one of the drier months in Southern Nevada, the weather is susceptible to low pressure trapped off the Pacific Coast, he said.

The weekend weather should return drier air and sunnier skies to the Las Vegas Valley with highs in the 80s to 90s and the lows in the 60s.

The spring weather system had lurked off the California coast for days. Drenching rains accompanied twisters in San Luis Obispo, Manhattan Beach and San Bernardino. Traffic collisions tied up Southern California freeways and a pilot died after a plane crashed into the San Bernardino Mountains.