Brief storm forces planes to divert

Mary Manning and Afsha Bawany

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 11:29 a.m.

A severe thunderstorm in the Las Vegas Valley forced three 737 airliners to land at Nellis Air Force Base instead of McCarran International Airport about 1 p.m. Thursday.

Dozens of auto accidents occurred across the valley, power lines were downed, cutting electricity to 4,000 customers, and some downpours closed local streets during the brief but intense storm.

National Weather Service officials forecast more thunderstorms today. They said the valley could get hit with more brief but intense storms.

A flood watch was issued this morning for up to 9 p.m. The weather service said the high temperature was expected today to reach 107 degrees after Thursday's high of 103. It dropped to 84 in less than half an hour during the storm.

McCarran bore the brunt of the storm that formed over Phoenix Thursday morning, blackening Southern Nevada's skies about noon, weather service meteorologist Charlie Schlott said.

Lightning, wind and low visibility made it difficult for aircraft to land.

McCarran received 0.41 of an inch of rain in about a half hour, Schlott said, and wind gusts of 41 mph further reduced visibility. The airport's rainfall total was the most received in the entire valley, but didn't put a dent in the drought that is the area's worst in modern history, he said.

When visibility is reduced to a quarter mile or less, the Federal Aviation Administration recommends diverting flights, weather service meteorologist Steve Downs said.

Within 15 minutes Southwest Airlines Flight 1973, U.S. Air Flight 1121 and Delta Flight 1621 diverted to Nellis. The airport remained open during that time, McCarran spokeswoman Debbie Millett said, but the pilots and air traffic controllers decided it was safer to head north for a landing.

"It's not common for aircraft to be diverted to Nellis, but it has happened on occasion," Millett said.

Passengers sat out the foul weather inside the aircraft while they were refueled at Nellis, base spokeswoman Capt. Maureen Schumann said. The 452 travelers were flown across town to McCarran about 3 p.m.

The flights were heading into Las Vegas from Nashville, Philadelphia and Atlanta, the last one via Ontario, Calif.

Lori Ferguson, a passenger on the Delta flight, from Atlanta, boarded in Florida and traveled a total of seven hours. She and other passengers on her flight became sick because of the turbulence, she said.

"I've flown many years. I've never seen that much turbulence," said Ferguson, who is visiting her cousin and family. "It was quite an ordeal."

Anna Auclair, an aerobics instructor from Rhode Island, started her trip on Delta at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.

"There's nothing you can do, you go with the punches," said Auclair, who was in town for a Jazzercise convention. Auclair and her friends said they were tired and were close to becoming sick but were happy they landed safely.

Stewart Feldman, traveling with his wife and son on Delta, said, "The pilot made a good choice not to try to land."

Feldman, a pharmacy professor at the University of Georgia, said his family was not bothered by the re-routing and were satisfied the pilot of the aircraft took a safe route.

Power outages throughout the valley, most of them on the eastern side, left 4,000 people without electricity for part of the afternoon, Nevada Power Co. spokeswoman Sonya Headen said. By 5 p.m. the power had been restored to all areas, she said.

The weather-related blackouts were caused by a downed pole at Sunset Road and Green Valley Parkway, lines down near Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road and tree limbs falling on lines.

Roads were closed as streets flooded after the downpour.

Topaz Street between Warm Springs Road and Thurman Avenue, Sur Este Avenue between Spencer and Bruce Streets and Eldorado Lane between Burnham Avenue and Spencer Street were closed.

Duck Creek in the southeast valley ran 2 1/2 feet deep after the storm, said Kevin Eubanks, assistant general manager of the Clark County Regional Flood Control District. But the channel did not overflow.

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management spent Thursday afternoon flying over the Spring Mountains after six small fires ignited by lightning were doused on Wednesday. No new flames or smoke were spotted, BLM spokeswoman Kristen Cannon said.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority advised residents and businesses to turn off sprinklers after the rain. Several hundred million gallons of water can be saved by those who stop watering during rainy periods, spokeswoman Amy Kremenek said.

The weather was a welcome blessing for Dean Glaspie, a Las Vegas resident for three years.

"It's the heat that's unbearable. We needed some rain anyway," said Glaspie while filling up her gas tank at 7-Eleven on Sahara Avenue and Arville Street. Glaspie said she may move back to Los Angeles because of the intensity of the Las Vegas summer.

Along Interstate 15 the wind blew debris from big rig trucks causing some vehicles to swerve and change lanes in heavy traffic.