Las Vegas Valley records its hottest July in history

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

Dale Galster is one valley resident sorely unhappy with the recent monsoons that have hit Southern Nevada.

He's the manager of the Green Valley Hand Car Wash at 4625 E. Sunset Road in Henderson, where business has dropped more than 25 percent. With more rain forecast for at least another week, he is expecting another quiet week.

"The rains slow us down," he said. "People hold off as long (getting car washes) as they can during the monsoon season."

But many valley residents have welcomed the rains and the relatively cooler temperatures that came with them. Las month was the hottest July on record for Las Vegas, with an average daily high of 95.3 degrees, Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Schlott said.

That broke the previous record of 94.8 degrees average set in July 2003 and the 2002 record of 94.5 degrees, Schlott said.

On Monday, Galster and his crews caught a break from the wet stuff. Lightning bolts lit up Southern Nevada's eastern skies Monday night as storms brewed and boiled in northeastern Arizona and southern California. The Weather Service reported flooding in Kingman, Ariz., and in some nearby desert communities homes were reported knocked off their foundations by flash floods from rainfall that came down more than an inch an hour.

But the National Weather Service reported no rain in the Las Vegas Valley.

That doesn't mean Galster and others in the Las Vegas Valley who prefer or rely on dry weather can celebrate, however. Southern Nevada's chances for rains and possible flash floods are expected to increase as the weekend approaches.

Weather Service meteorologist Barry Pierce said Monday night that forecasters were watching a tropical cyclone that will pass through Brownsville, Texas, and cross Mexico. That could add moisture to Southern Nevada's monsoonal moisture as early as Friday, depending on how quickly it moves.