Lots of lightning, but little rain falls

Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

Plenty of lightning and thunder came, but little rain fell in the Las Vegas Valley Wednesday night as summer storms continued marching across the Southwest. A flash flood watch issued Wednesday afternoon for Southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona was lifted 4 a.m. today.

Most of the fiercest thunderstorm activity had faded after midnight.

A Nevada Power Co. dispatcher said the outlying communities of Blue Diamond southwest of Las Vegas, Mount Charleston west of the city and Indian Springs, including the Air Force Base there, had their electricity knocked out due to the storms.

No outages were reported in Las Vegas.

Power had been restored to most customers by midnight.

The National Weather Service reported that 0.01 of an inch of rain fell at McCarran International Airport, the official weather recording station, through midnight, meteorologist Steve Downs said.

The last measurable rainfall occurred on July 25 when 0.41 inches of rain fell during a thundershower, Downs said.

The main feature of the rumbling storms was lightning.

"It was big-time lightning everywhere you looked," Downs said.

Today's weather should begin to shift the moisture north of the Las Vegas Valley, so more rainfall is predicted for central Nevada, near Tonopah, Downs said.

"We'll still have a chance of a storm here, although the bulk of it will be to the north," Downs said.

Las Vegas will experience somewhat cooler temperatures today. The high is expected to reach 96 degrees, compared to a high of 102 degrees on Wednesday.

National Weather Service forecaster Jim Harrison said that there will be a gradual drying trend in Southern Nevada through the weekend.

Through the weekend, however, thunderstorms could continue in the mountains surrounding Las Vegas and a stray shower could even move into the valley, he said.