Valley hit by record-setting rain

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005 | 11:10 a.m.

Monday's rainfall made this the wettest winter on record in the Las Vegas Valley and it's going to get even wetter with more showers expected the rest of the week.

"Just in the last three months we've gotten more rain than we would normally see in an entire year," National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Jensen said.

Potential thunderstorms this afternoon and evening are in the weather service forecast, and those could bring more flooding and runoff. The rain and showers are expected to taper off through Thursday.

By Monday afternoon the valley already had surpassed the previous record for the wettest winter -- the 5.86 inches of rain that fell from December 1992 into February 1993. Winter rainfall measurements include rain in December, January and February.

The 2004-2005 winter precipitation was 6.19 inches as of this morning, and counting.

In the 21 rainy days this year, the valley has nearly reached the annual average precipitation. The valley averages 4.49 inches a year, and as of Monday the valley had seen a little more than 4 inches already this year.

McCarran International Airport recorded 0.63 inches of rain in a 24-hour period starting at 7:30 a.m. Monday, said Charlie Schlott, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

On Monday the rain contributed to several vehicle collisions, caused spot flooding and turned several streets into shallow rivers, as water flowed through the valley. The northwest part of the valley was among the hardest hit.

Late Monday night Joe Myszkowski decided he might try to get some sleep after watching rising floodwaters creep across his front lawn.

He was resigned to soggy reality. "The world is changing," Myszkowski said as he peered out a front window of his home on North Buffalo Drive near Grand Teton.

Seven feet of sodden grass separated Myskowski's front door from floodwaters.

"It's getting closer, but we're doing pretty well," said Myskowski, who said he may place a line of sandbags across the front of his property today.

Myskowski and his wife, Julia Ramirez, have lived in their home since 1991 and "this is the worst it's been," he said. The rural area has developed with homes and corner stores in the past 14 years and flood patterns have changed, he said.

The west side was deluged with rain Monday, receiving almost twice as much water as the eastern part of the valley, according to Clark County Regional Flood Control District data. The Kyle Canyon and Lone Mountain Detention Basins each took in about 2.5 inches of rain, causing flooding along Farm Road, Alexander Road and Durango Drive.

Those locations are the new "hot spots" for flooding caused by changing development in the area, Betty Hollister, spokeswoman for the Regional Flood Control District, said. There are plans to put in new underground storm drains in the area.

The constant rain has shown the flood control district what's working and what's not, Hollister said. Some areas that used to constantly flood, such as the Charleston underpass, Washington Avenue, Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road, haven't seen any problems this season.

"This is unprecedented rain," Hollister said. "To take that into account with as little flooding as we've seen, I think that is remarkable."

One ongoing problem, however, particularly along Alexander Road on Monday, is that water inlets are getting clogged by debris, Hollister said. She cleaned out six inlets Monday, removing everything from construction debris to Big Gulp cups to campaign signs from November.

Hollister said that people shouldn't put themselves in danger to clear the clogs during a storm, but can notify city or county public works officials.

The water also contributed to accidents.

The Nevada Highway Patrol responded to 130 crashes over the Presidents Day weekend, 60 of which occurred on Friday, Trooper Angie Chavera, a highway patrol spokeswoman, said.

The highway patrol reported another 20 on Monday, a slight dip from the 25 to 35 troopers normally investigate on Mondays but higher than a typical holiday weekend, she said. No serious accidents had been reported this morning.

UPS driver Glen Hammons, who was shopping with his wife, Cindy, at Lowe's near Tropicana Avenue and Interstate 215 on Monday, said people need to slow down.

"They (local motorists) drive like crazy anyways, so when it rains they really can't drive," said Hammons, 36, a longtime Las Vegas resident.

Some people, such as Carolyn Harper, 61, took advantage of the Presidents Day holiday to stay out of the rain. But she and others were worried about how the continued downpour would affect today's commutes.

"I don't think this city is prepared for this kind of stuff," Harper said Monday. "I'm off work today but tomorrow I have to get out of here and drive in this and the last time we had flooding it was just unreal."

The rain this year was starting to get some people down.

"It's depressing," said Connie Cleveland, a Starbucks barista at Fort Apache Road and Sahara Avenue. She said she moved here from Seattle to get away from the rain. "I want the sunshine back."

Across the street at the Village Square Regal Cinemas, Las Vegas resident Greta Muirhead, 39, said she, too, was ready for the rain to stop.

"I'm tired of it," said Muirhead, who is worried her pool will soon overflow. "We're ready for the summer."