More light rain expected this morning, heavier rain this afternoon

By Dave Toplikar

Friday, July 13, 2012 | 10:17 a.m.

Prepare to get wet if you’re headed outside. The Las Vegas Valley, which has been getting spurts of light rain, should see more moderate rain this morning and possibly heavier rains later this afternoon and evening.

“It looks like the whole valley is going to get a good shot of rain in the next hour or so,” Chris Stumpf, a meteorologist at the Las Vegas National Weather Service office said about 9:20 a.m.

Stumpf said McCarran International Airport had .01 of an inch of rain by about 9 a.m. His office, which is southwest of the airport, had about .03 of an inch. Henderson Executive Airport has had .02 of an inch, and North Las Vegas Airport has had a trace of rain since midnight.

Stumpf said once the mid-morning storm systems move through, there will be a break in the clouds. If the sun generates enough heat, it could create a round of stronger thunderstorms late this afternoon and early evening, he said.

Much of southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas Valley, has been under a flash flood watch since 5 a.m. The watch will continue through midnight.

Stumpf said the rainfall from this morning could cause ponding on some roadways. “But the thunderstorms that might develop this afternoon could cause more problems,” he said.

The weather service’s flash flood watch says rainfall totals greater than a half an inch, with local amounts of one to two inches in under an hour, could result in flash flooding.

Travelers should be alert for the potential for water to cover low spots on roads, including those that run through washes, the weather service said.

Storm drains and flood control channels could see rapidly flowing water in them, along with the potential for debris to collect in them.

The temperature by 9:45 a.m. was 78 degrees at McCarran. Today’s high is expected to climb to 95 degrees.