Storm warning lifted; wind, rain, flooding still possible

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Published Tuesday, July 8, 2014 | 3:46 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, July 8, 2014 | 4:49 p.m.

A weather system packing rain and high winds prompted the National Weather Service in Las Vegas to issue a severe thunderstorm warning for central Clark County this afternoon, but forecasters allowed the warning to expire at 4:15 p.m.

Meanwhile, the weather service issued a flood advisory for the southeast part of the valley and said localized street flooding was possible.

The Regional Flood Control District at 4:35 p.m. tweeted that the water level at a channel at Warm Springs in Henderson is nearing 4 feet. It advised people to stay out of washes and channels

The warning was issued about 3:20 p.m., with officials urging people in the affected area, which included Mountains Edge, Henderson and Boulder City, to take cover. By 4 p.m., storms were merging near Green Valley, National Weather Service meteorologists said, concentrating heavy rain in Henderson.

At one point during the height of the storm, wind gusts reached up to 57 mph on the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge near Hoover Dam.

At 4:09 p.m., National Weather Service meteorologists said the severe thunderstorms prompting the warning had weakened. The severe storm warning was allowed to expire at 4:15, but forecasters said strong wind gusts to 50 mph remained possible across the southern Las Vegas Valley and Lake Mead through 5 p.m.

Officials with the Lake Mead National Recreation Area were advising boaters and others on the water to move to shore as the storm moved over Lake Mead about 4:25 p.m.

Areas under the flood advisory, which remains in effect until 7:15 p.m., include Henderson, areas around Green Valley and Windmill Parkway, and Green Valley Parkway, Lake Las Vegas, Las Vegas Bay and Las Vegas Bay Campground, the area around Sam Boyd Stadium and East Las Vegas.