Las Vegas gets record-setting rain

By Mary Manning, Tim Richardson, Dave Toplikar

Published Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 | 9:51 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 | 5:20 p.m.

More than a half-inch of rain fell in the Las Vegas Valley Saturday, soaking pedestrians on the Strip, filling some neighborhood washes and leading the National Weather Service to put out a brief flood advisory.

Las Vegas set a record Saturday for the most rain ever to fall on Feb. 7, with 0.58 of an inch of rain recorded as of 3 p.m. today at McCarran International Airport, according to the weather service. The previous record was 0.42 inches of rain on Feb. 7, 1992.

The weather service posted a flood advisory over central Clark County, including the Las Vegas Valley for the afternoon through 5:45 p.m. However, the weather service lifted the advisory about 4:30 p.m. when the clouds broke over parts of the valley. There is a 70 percent chance of rain for the valley through the evening, with the low temperature dropping to 35 degrees.

Records indicate Las Vegas receives an average of 0.69 inches of rain in February, which is the highest monthly total of the year. Before today, the city had recorded 0.04 inches of rain in all of 2009.

The wettest February on record in Las Vegas occurred in 1998, when 2.89 inches of rain fell.

Rain drenched the Las Vegas valley while mountain ranges to the west and north of the city are under extended winter weather advisories through Sunday.

The weather service said rain could intensify through the day in Las Vegas with a high around 58 degrees and an overnight low of about 41 degrees with continued cloudy skies and occasional rain showers.

Overnight the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort on Mount Charleston reported a new foot of snow on a base of 40 inches. The temperature on the mountain will stay in the low 20s today and Sunday.

The weather service forecasts up to another foot of snow before this storm system leaves Southern Nevada, which would drop a total of two feet of new snow above 6,000 feet in the mountains.

The winter weather advisory for the Spring Mountains to the valley's west and the Sheep Mountains to the north has been extended until 4 p.m. Sunday as colder air flows into place over Southern Nevada.

The next storm system arrives on Monday, bringing another chance of rain and snow showers are possible down to 3,000 feet Monday night, the weather service said. Temperatures for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday range in the low to mid 50s with yet another storm system possible on Thursday.

The unsettled weather with temperatures below the normal highs for this of lower 60s is expected to remain through next weekend.