Strong sunshine and temperatures 10-15 degrees above average helped spin up a dust devil which caused damage in Boulder City.
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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.
Strong sunshine and temperatures 10-15 degrees above average helped spin up a dust devil which caused damage in Boulder City.
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 May 11, 8:25 AM PST, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 925 AM PDT MON MAY 11 2009 .SYNOPSIS...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS WEEK AS AN AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE PERSISTING OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST CONTINUES TO KEEP DRY CONDITIONS IN PLACE. BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOONS TODAY AND TUESDAY AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE NORTHWESTERN STATES. && .UPDATE...CURRENT WATER VAPOR IMAGERY DEPICTS A WEAK BAND OF MOISTURE PASSING OVER THE NORTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY IN THE FORM OF HIGH CIRRUS CLOUDS. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE ABOVE NORMAL AS THE ZONAL PATTERN CONTINUES. FORECAST CURRENTLY ON TRACK...NO UPDATES NEEDED. - LABELLE - .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...330 AM PDT MON MAY 11...THE ZONAL FLOW ACROSS THE REGION WILL BE ENHANCED TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY AS AN UPPER LOW OFF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST SWINGS ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS WILL PICK UP THIS AFTERNOON THEN PEAK TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DESERTS WHERE WIDESPREAD ADVISORY LEVEL SPEEDS ARE PROBABLE TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE LATEST GFS AND NAM BOTH SHOW A WEAK COLD FRONT PUSHING DOWN THROUGH SOUTHERN NEVADA TUESDAY NIGHT BEHIND THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN INTERMOUNTAIN REGION. THE RESULTING NORTH WINDS WILL HELP LOWER TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES WEDNESDAY. HOWEVER...VALUES WILL STILL REMAIN SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. .LONG TERM...MODELS HAVE CONTINUED TO SPEED UP THE PASSAGE OF THE LATE WEEK SYSTEM PROGGED TO MOVE ACROSS THE PAC NW AND NOW MOVE IT BY ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. THE 00Z ECMWF...GFS AND DGEX WERE ALL IN AGREEMENT ON THIS AND DIG IT FAR ENOUGH SOUTH THAT IT SHOULD INCREASE WINDS SOME THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS MAINLY BETWEEN 20 AND 30 MPH EXPECTED. HUMIDITY VALUES WILL ALSO BE LOW THEN AND THERE COULD BE SOME FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS IN THIS TIME FRAME. TEMPS WILL BEGIN TO REBOUND FRIDAY AS A LARGE UPPER RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE WEST FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC. THIS LOOKS TO BE THE STRONGEST RIDGE OVER THE WEST IN TERMS OF 500 MB HEIGHTS THIS YEAR I CAN RECALL SINCE BACK IN JANUARY...AND IT HAS GOOD SUPPORT FROM THE ENSEMBLES AS WELL AS THE OPERATIONAL MODELS. AS THE RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE WEST OVER THE WEEKEND THIS WILL SET UP A HIGHLY AMPLIFIED PATTERN ACROSS THE CONUS WITH A DEEP TROUGH OUT EAST. TEMPS WILL GRADUALLY RISE A FEW DEGREES EACH DAY OVER THE WEEKEND AND CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE HEAT WILL REALLY BE TURNED UP A NOTCH ON SUNDAY AS 700 MB TEMPS RISE ACROSS THE AREA TO +12C TO +14C AND THIS WILL PUT HIGHS NEAR RECORD LEVELS. BY MONDAY THE ECMWF PROGS A 592 DM 500 MB HIGH TO BE CENTERED OVER CENTRAL NEVADA AND THIS SHOULD BE THE HOTTEST DAY AREAWIDE. THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE THAT LAS VEGAS WILL REACH EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING CRITERIA THEN WHICH IS A HIGH TEMP OF 105 DEGREES. IRONICALLY...THIS HOT SPELL IS OCCURRING EXACTLY THE SAME TIME WE FIRST GOT HOT LAST YEAR. I LOOKED AT THE POSITION OF THE HIGH THEN AS WELL AS THE 700 MB TEMPS REACHED AND THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT THE ECMWF PROGS THIS TIME. TUESDAY THE UPPER RIDGE BEGINS TO SHIFT EAST BUT IT WILL STILL REMAIN HOT. ONE LAST CONCERN WILL BE MOISTURE SNEAKING AROUND THE RIDGE ESPECIALLY BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. THIS SHOULD ALLOW CUMULUS TO DEVELOP OVER THE SIERRA DURING THE DAY. HOWEVER THINK ANY TSTMS WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL TUESDAY WHEN THE CENTER OF THE RIDGE SLIDES EASTWARD. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...WINDS COULD HAVE AN EASTERLY COMPONENT AT TIMES THIS MORNING BUT SHOULD MAINLY BE UNDER 10 KTS. OTHERWISE BY 20Z EXPECT WINDS TO BECOME SOUTH AND THEN INCREASE AROUND 22Z WITH GUSTS OF 20-25 KTS THROUGH 02Z TUESDAY. AFTERWARDS...SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 10 KTS ARE EXPECTED. A CLEAR SKY IS FORECAST THROUGH TONIGHT. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...WINDS WILL BE UNDER 10 KTS IN MOST LOCATIONS THIS MORNING THEN INCREASE OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST BETWEEN 20Z AND 22Z TODAY WITH GUSTS OF 20-30 KTS EXPECTED. WINDS WILL LESSEN SOME AROUND 02Z TUESDAY. A CLEAR SKY IS FORECAST THROUGH TONIGHT. && .CLIMATE...WITH NEAR RECORD TO RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK ACROSS THE AREA HERE IS A LIST OF RECORDS FROM ACROSS THE AREA. LOCATION RECORD HIGH MAX 5/17 RECORD HIGH MAX 5/18 --------------------------------------------------------------------- LAS VEGAS 102/LAST SET IN 1970 104/2008 BISHOP 97/LAST SET IN 2008 100/1954 BARSTOW-DAGGETT 103/2006 107/2008 NEEDLES 110/2006 111/2008 FOR LAS VEGAS...THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE FIRST TRIPLE DIGIT OR BETTER HIGH TEMPERATURE OF THE YEAR IS MAY 25TH. THE FIRST 100 DEGREE OR BETTER HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR EACH OF THE LAST 5 YEARS IS LISTED BELOW. 2008...MAY 18TH - HIGH TEMP WAS 104 2007...JUNE 1ST - HIGH TEMP WAS 103 2006...MAY 13TH - HIGH TEMP WAS 100 2005...MAY 20TH - HIGH TEMP WAS 102 2004...MAY 4TH - HIGH TEMP WAS 100 && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && ADAIR/STACHELSKI HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 518 AM PDT MON MAY 11 2009 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-120700- 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- 518 AM PDT MON MAY 11 2009 /518 AM MST MON MAY 11 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE ACROSS THE WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DESERTS TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHERE WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP WITH GUSTS OVER 40 MPH POSSIBLE. TEMPERATURES WILL CLIMB SEVERAL DEGREES ACROSS THE REGION LATE IN THE WEEKEND WITH HIGHS APPROACHING RECORD LEVELS FOR SOME AREAS BY SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. JA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
A strong dust devil moved through the Gingerwood Mobile Home Park on the edge of Boulder City, damaging several mobile homes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, May 2009
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: 159695.