Storm sparks a few problems

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1999 | 11:48 a.m.

A line of thunderstorms skipped across the Las Vegas Valley this morning with rolling thunder and spectacular lightning that started several fires.

The thunderheads formed over the McCullough mountain range south of Las Vegas and stormed across the heart of the valley from about 3:15 to 5:30 a.m. today. People reported seeing lightning over the southwest mountains about midnight.

The speed of the storms prevented the severe flooding the valley experienced July 8, National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Skrbac said. Winds of 40 mph pushed the storms through the valley.

Pea-sized hail rattled roofs at the height of the storm.

The official rainfall at McCarran International Airport was 0.21 inches, Skrbac said.

The heaviest rainfall -- 0.71 of an inch -- fell in the Pittman Wash near Wigwam Avenue and in Duck Creek east of Boulder Highway. The Clark County Regional Flood Control captured the amounts in some of its 100 gauges. At Flamingo Wash and Eastern Avenue, the gauge measured 0.63 inches.

About 3,000 customers lost electricity in sporadic outages, Nevada Power Co. reported.

Apparent lightning strikes sparked several fires, including a home near Eastern Avenue and Warm Springs Road that had just been repaired after the July flooding, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Steve LaSky said.

A woman and her daughter escaped the house after the red-tiled roof collapsed from a lightning strike, but three cats died in the resulting fire, LaSky said.

Other lightning-sparked fires included the 2600 block of East Charleston Boulevard, a pine tree near 4200 Boulder Highway and the areas of Eastern Avenue and Flamingo Road and Bonita Avenue near Charleston.

A natural gas leak was also reported at Eastern and Flamingo.

The Charleston Underpass was closed for about an hour because of flooding, but opened in time for rush-hour traffic.

By the morning commute water still stood on surface streets such as Paradise Road, Boulder Highway and Eastern Avenue.

The official rainfall this year stands at 3.34 inches, Skrbac said. That is 0.83 inches above the average for this time of year.

Showers and thunderstorms were predicted through midday today, then partly cloudy skies will stay until a low pressure system moving in from the northwest should shove the wet weather east.

Temperatures are about 10 degrees lower than normal for August. Today's high is expected to reach 95 degrees with a low tonight in the mid to high 60s. Partly cloudy to sunny conditions should return Wednesday. "We'll struggle to reach 100 degrees," Skrbac said.