Moisture from tropical storm brings wet weekend

Friday, Sept. 4, 1998 | 11:27 a.m.

Chief Meteorologist Larry Jensen had planned to camp on Mount Charleston this Labor Day weekend. Isis changed his plans as the hurricane, downgraded to a tropical storm, began moving into Las Vegas Thursday.

"I may try a day hike or two, but I don't think it's wise to camp up on the mountain, based on the moisture moving in," Jensen said from his National Weather Service office.

The hurricane slammed into Mexico's mainland early Thursday packing 75 mph winds and heavy rain. One woman died and two men were missing in the storm that moved north and west through Mexico Thursday.

For the Las Vegas Valley, the weekend could be wetter than what's been delved out by the spate of thunderstorms that have rumbled into the area almost every afternoon and evening for the past two weeks, meteorologist Donald Maker said.

Moisture from Isis combined with a blanket of humid air trapped in a pocket of low pressure sitting over Southern Nevada promised more rain, he said.

Tropical storms, however, can be unpredictable, Maker said. An intense hurricane, once it strikes land, loses a lot of its energy.

Intense thunderstorms can produce rapid street flooding in urban Las Vegas. The weather officials warned motorists not to drive through flowing water, because pavement conditions are unknown under the muddy water.

If there is a silver lining in the clouds, it is a break in the unseasonable temperatures that have plagued Southern Nevada and Southern California, Maker said.

From a 100-degree high on Thursday, today's high is only expected to reach 96.

Lows could range from the 70s to 80s for the next few days.

Unfortunately for those sweltering in the Southwest's deserts, the weather conditions and increasing humidity could hang around into next week.

"That barbecue I was planning for this weekend appears to be out," Maker said.