A weak push of monsoon moisture brought another round of thunderstorms to the Mojave Desert. A few of the storms produced strong winds and flash flooding.
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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.
A weak push of monsoon moisture brought another round of thunderstorms to the Mojave Desert. A few of the storms produced strong winds and flash flooding.
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 Sep 8, 1:32 PM PST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 232 PM PDT MON SEP 8 2008 .SYNOPSIS...A WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL BRING INCREASED MOISTURE AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THROUGH MUCH OF THE UPCOMING WEEK...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST NEVADA. A DRYING TREND IS EXPECTED NEXT WEEKEND AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FINALLY MOVES AWAY. && .SHORT TERM...MOISTURE INCREASE OCCURRED MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN EXPECTED. RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM THE NEVADA TEST SITE TO THE MORONGO BASIN AS OF 2 PM. EXPECT THESE TO WEAKEN AFTER SUNSET...BUT A FEW MAY PERSIST OVERNIGHT DUE TO NUMEROUS OUTFLOW BOUNDARY COLLISIONS. THE PATTERN SHOULD PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE SHORT TERM...SO RAISED POPS OVER THE EASTERN ZONES EACH DAY THROUGH THURSDAY. FUTURE SHIFTS MAY NEED TO RE-RAISE DEPENDING ON THE EVENTUAL TRACK OF THE WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER FAR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THE DEVELOPING TROUGH OFF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL TREND DOWN EACH DAY AS MOISTURE AND CLOUDS BECOME THE DOMINANT FACTORS. .LONG TERM...OVERALL POOR MODEL AGREEMENT WITH THE LONG TERM WITH A VARIETY OF SOLUTIONS FROM THE OPERATIONAL MODELS AND THE ENSEMBLES. ABOUT THE ONLY DAY THERE WAS SOME MODEL CONSENSUS WAS ON FRIDAY. A CLOSED UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER UTAH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD ON FRIDAY ALLOWING AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TO BUILD IN FROM THE WEST. THERE IS REASONABLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GFS/GEM/ECMWF WITH THIS IDEA. THUS EXPECT A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALONG TO SET UP AND THUS TRENDED DOWN POPS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA REMOVING ANY MENTION FROM THE ZONES/WORDED FORECASTS BUT STILL KEPT IN GHOST POPS IN THE GRIDS. STARTING SATURDAY...WE START TO SEE THE MODELS DIVERGE WITH THE ECMWF FORMING A CLOSED CUT OFF LOW OFF THE PAC NW COAST AND THEN EJECTING IT SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS CALIFORNIA AND WEAKENING IT BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE OPERATIONAL GFS FORMS A WEAK VORTICITY FEATURE BUT THEN LIFTS IT NORTHWARD MORE TOWARDS OREGON. IF SUCH A FEATURE DOES DEVELOP...IT COULD POSSIBLY EJECT NORTHWARD SOME DEEPER MOISTURE BUT OTHERWISE IT MAY NOT DO MUCH IF ANYTHING AS THE LATEST OPERATIONAL MODELS ARE RATHER DRY. FOR NOW...WENT WITH THE IDEA OF A RIDGE ALOFT BUILDING IN FOR THE WEEKEND WHICH HAS BEEN THE TREND AND WITH WITH THE IDEA OF A WARMING TREND. THE ECMWF SOLUTION ESPECIALLY SHOULD THIS BE A TREND THAT HOLDS...WOULD WARRANT BEEFING UP POPS IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE AREA BY MONDAY OR TUESDAY AFTERNOON. ANOTHER INTERESTING FEATURE TO WATCH ON THE ECMWF IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANOTHER TROPICAL SYSTEM NEAR CABO SAN LUCAS BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK AND WHICH COULD POSSIBLY ALSO RESULT IN SOME SORT OF SURGE OF TROPICAL MOISTURE NORTHWARD. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...SO FAR TSTMS HAVE STAYED OUTSIDE THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AS OF WRITING AND DISTANT LIGHTNING HAS BEEN NOTED OVER THE SPRING MOUNTAINS AT TIMES. BASED ON TRENDS SO FAR WILL GO WITH A VCTY TSTM IN THE TAF THROUGH AROUND 3Z TUE AND AMEND IF NEEDED. SCT-BKN CLOUDS AOA 18K FEET WITH FEW-SCT CLOUDS AOA 10K FEET THIS EVENING AND GENERALLY FEW-SCT CLOUDS AOA 12K FEET LATER TONIGHT. AWAY FROM ANY WINDS FROM TSTMS OR TSTM OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES EXPECT LIGHT DIURNAL WINDS TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW. FOR TOMORROW DRIER AIR LOOKS TO WORK INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST AND THIS SHOULD CONFINE THE BETTER CHANCES FOR TSTMS TO AREAS EAST OF LAS VEGAS. IN THE APPROACH CORRIDORS...SCT TSTMS THIS EVENING...WITH THE GREATEST COVERAGE IN THE PEACH SPRINGS CORRIDOR. TOMORROW...SCT TSTMS AGAIN ARE EXPECTED IN THE PEACH SPRINGS AND MORMON MESA CORRIDORS WITH ISOLATED TSTMS AT BEST IN THE BEATTY AND DAGGETT CORRIDORS. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...SCT TSTMS THIS EVENING ACROSS THE AREA...AND BASED ON RADAR TRENDS AT TAF ISSUANCE TIME WILL LIKELY KEEP AT LEAST A VCTY TSTM IN TAFS. LONE EXCEPTION MAY BE AT KBIH WHERE DRY LOW LEVELS SHOULD LIMIT PROSPECTS FOR MUCH IF ANY RAIN TO REACH THE GROUND. THE MAIN THREATS WITH TSTMS WILL BE HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND LOWER CIGS/VSBY TO AT LEAST MVFR LEVELS AND GUSTY ERRATIC WINDS. OTHERWISE EXPECT SCT CLOUDS TONIGHT AOA 12K FEET WITH LIGHT DIURNAL WINDS. TOMORROW DRIER AIR WILL WORK IN FROM THE WEST AND TSTM CHANCES LOOK GREATEST EAST OF LAS VEGAS...MAINLY IN LINCOLN AND MOHAVE COUNTIES. OTHERWISE EXPECT FEW-SCT CLOUDS AOA 14K FEET WITH GENERALLY LIGHT DIURNAL WINDS EXCEPT FOR LOCAL GUSTS OF 15-25 KTS IN THE AFTERNOON AT KDRA AND KBIH. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && MORGAN/STACHELSKI HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 550 AM PDT MON SEP 8 2008 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-090700- 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- 550 AM PDT MON SEP 8 2008 /550 AM MST MON SEP 8 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN TODAY. THE STORMS WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS WITH LIMITED RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES THROUGH WEDNESDAY WITH DRYING OCCURRING OVER NORTHWEST ARIZONA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
320 PM PDT MON SEP 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0304 PM HEAVY RAIN W TRUXTON CANYON RAWS 35.78N 113.79W
09/08/2008 M1.03 INCH MOHAVE AZ MESONET
THE TRUXTON CANYON RAWS MEASURED 1.03 INCHES OF RAIN IN
ABOUT TWO HOURS.
0305 PM HEAVY RAIN 10 S MEADVIEW 35.86N 114.07W
09/08/2008 M1.58 INCH MOHAVE AZ MESONET
A MESONET SITE AT GRAPEVINE MESA MEASURED 1.58 INCHES OF
RAIN IN ABOUT TWO HOURS.
&&
STACHELSKIThe Las Vegas radar (KESX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:42 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck and damaged several trees and a power pole. One house was damaged by fire which spread from a burning tree.
Thunderstorm winds damaged carports on two mobile homes, and blew down a fence.
Flash flooding affected Boulder Hwy. at Flamingo, and the Flamingo onramp to Interstate 515 on the east side of Las Vegas. Some flooding was also reported on the north Strip, and at the intersection of Sahara and Maryland just east of the north Strip.
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, September 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: 129963, 129961, 129965.