High temperatures contributed to one death in the Las Vegas area. The death occurred on the 20th, when the high temperature was 101 degrees, and temperatures had been 100 degrees or higher for 31 out of 34 days.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS VEF wrote it up.
High temperatures contributed to one death in the Las Vegas area. The death occurred on the 20th, when the high temperature was 101 degrees, and temperatures had been 100 degrees or higher for 31 out of 34 days.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 20, 8:48 AM PST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 948 AM PDT WED AUG 20 2008 .SYNOPSIS...THE MONSOON MOISTURE WILL BE HELD BACK THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS A DRY...PREDOMINANTLY WESTERLY FLOW WILL PREVAIL. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE THEIR SEASONAL NORMALS INTO THE WEEKEND. && .UPDATE...CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AND NO UPDATE PLANNED. FAIRLY BENIGN PATTERN. MAY TWEAK TEMPERATURES A DEGREE UP OR DOWN AT MOST FOR A FEW LOCATIONS. && .PREV DISCUSSION...330 AM PDT...SHORT TERM...SHORTWAVE TROUGH CONTINUES TO PROGRESS ACROSS THE CWA. THE TROUGH AXIS IS SHOULD PASS THROUGH THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. SOME UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN APPARENT AHEAD OF THE TROUGH AND ARE NOW LIMITED TO THE NORTHERN HALF OF MOHAVE COUNTY AND SHOULD EXIT TO THE EAST OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. TODAY SHOULD BE A FAIRLY NORMAL DAY WITH HIGH AND LOW TEMPS NEAR THEIR SEASONAL LEVELS. THE NEXT TROUGH...FURTHER NORTH THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE WILL BE PUSHING ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON THURSDAY AND SHOULD ENHANCE WINDS SOMEWHAT AHEAD OF IT ACROSS SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA...WITH AFTERNOON GUSTS PRIMARILY IN THE 20 TO 30 MPH RANGE. MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT WITH BRINGING AN UPPER LEVEL IMPULSE ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ON FRIDAY. PW VALUES ACROSS PORTIONS OF INYO COUNTY INCREASE TO BETWEEN 0.75 AND 1.00 INCH AHEAD OF THE IMPULSE WITH SOME INCREASE IN MID LEVEL MOISTURE. BOTH MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE MARGINAL...BUT HAVE INTRODUCED SOME CLIMO POPS OVER THE SIERRA WHICH ARE ONLY AROUND 10 PERCENT. OTHERWISE...QUIET...DRY...PATTERN. .LONG TERM...HIGH PRESSURE IS THE DOMINANT FEATURE OVER THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN CONUS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF AGREE THAT DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY BUT THE EC TRIES TO RETURN SOME MOISTURE TO SOUTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY SUNDAY WHILE THE GFS HAS HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVERHEAD WHICH BASICALLY CAPS CONVECTION. MADE LITTLE CHANGE TO THE INHERITED FORECAST FOR THE WEEKEND BY FOLLOWING THE DRIER GFS. AN UPPER TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NW MONDAY AND ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER STATES TUESDAY DISPLACING RIDGING BACK WEST OF THE AREA. IT LOOKS LIKE THE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED JET ARE FORECASTED TO BE TOO FAR NORTH TO PRODUCE ANY SIGNIFICANT WIND ACROSS THE CWA AT THIS POINT. IN ADDITION...THE GFS MAINTAINS DRY...STABLE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA BOTH DAYS. THE ECMWF APPEARS TO BE OVERDONE WITH THE INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE GIVEN THE FORECASTED WEATHER PATTERN SO WILL MAINTAIN A DRY FORECAST WITH TEMPERATURES AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...OVERNIGHT SOUTHERLY WINDS AROUND 10 KTS THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH GUSTY AFTERNOON WINDS POSSIBLE EACH DAY. OTHERWISE...NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EXPECTED INTO THE WEEKEND. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY...WINDS WILL GENERALLY REMAIN SOUTHWEST 10-15 KTS DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS INTO THE WEEKEND THEN INCREASING TO 10-20 KTS AND GUSTY EACH AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE...NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EXPECTED INTO THE WEEKEND. && .FIRE WEATHER...RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL FALL INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE REGION THE NEXT COUPLE OF AFTERNOONS. WIND GUSTS WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 20S IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF AFTERNOONS WITH SOME ISOLATED HIGHER GUSTS ACROSS NYE COUNTY. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && JACQUES/CZYZYK/SALMEN HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 612 AM PDT WED AUG 20 2008 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-210700- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS- LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES- OWENS VALLEY-WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY- DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT- EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN-CADIZ BASIN- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY- ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY-LINCOLN COUNTY- NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY- SHEEP RANGE-SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY- SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY- 612 AM PDT WED AUG 20 2008 /612 AM MST WED AUG 20 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
One person died in the Las Vegas area due to heat-related causes.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2008-08-20 | 38 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, August 2008
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 134716.