At about 4pm today (Tues) some thunderstorms began hitting Las Vegas. Some
areas got no rain, while others got a little, and others got over 2 inches of
rain in a short time. Some hail also fell in some areas. While I write this
(6:20 pm), we are watching TV where we are seeing some amazing rescues by
helicopter of people stuck on top of or in cars in the NW suburbs (area of 95 and
Gowan, Rainbow & Gowan, etc.). This truly shows why when thunderstorms come we
sometimes see "flash flood" warnings on TV. With 2-3 inches of rain falling
in about 90 minutes in some areas the amount of water just overwhelmed some
flood basins causing localized flooding and fast moving waters.
It is interesting to watch the rescues via helicopters because as the TV
helicopter pans from above you can see that within perhaps 20-40 feet the area may
be dry, while the lower area is flooded. Some areas with 4-5 feet deep water
are dangerous due to the fast moving water heading down the street.
The danger really comes as people try to continue driving through streets
which have a small amount of flooding, but are then caught when their engines
stall out and the water gets deeper and faster moving.
Interestingly a fire engine coming to someone's rescue was caught and about
4-5 firemen had to be rescued via helicopter. In some instances the helicopter
is coming quite close to power lines. Rt. 95 has now been closed down.
It's not known yet, but this flash flooding could be worse than the supposed
"100-year storm" that caused major flooding during 99. At that time the strip
was effected heavily, with flooding in Caesars Palace, Imperial Palace.
The cameras are panning down Rancho and Gowan and those roads look like
streams.
At any rate, visitors and locals alike should pay attention when storms hit
our desert town and watch out for flash floods. Obviously if you are driving
and see flooding, don't attempt to drive through flooded streets.
It looks like so far the flooding is not affecting the strip this time, so
this may not make national news.
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