Monsoon moisture fueled scattered thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. A few storms produced severe weather and flash flooding.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Monsoon moisture fueled scattered thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. A few storms produced severe weather 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 Aug 17, 2:40 PM MST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 240 PM PDT TUE AUG 17 2010 .SYNOPSIS...INCREASING MONSOON MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD ACROSS THE MOJAVE DESERT INTO WEDNESDAY...LEADING TO GREATER THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN GREAT BASIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL THEN BRING DRY WESTERLY FLOW AND DECREASED THUNDERSTORM CHANCES FOR THE END OF THE WEEK. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BEING CONFINED TO MAINLY MOHAVE AND CLARK COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON AS THE BEST INSTABILITY...NEGATIVE 5 OR SO...RESIDES OVER THIS AREA PER SPC GUIDANCE. EXPECT ACTIVITY TO DECREASE OVERNIGHT WITH THE ENDING OF THE DAYTIME HEATING HOWEVER WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS MUCH OF THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE CWA AS WEAK DYNAMICS WILL STILL BE PRESENT. BY WEDNESDAY...BOTH THE NAM/GFS SHOW THAT A VORT LOBE WILL ROTATE ACROSS THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE CWA DURING THE DAY WHILE A SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVES EAST ACROSS THE PACNW. ASSOCIATED WEAK JET WITH THE TROUGH MAY ENHANCE CONVECTION ACROSS LINCOLN COUNTY LATE IN THE DAY/INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE COMBINATION OF THE SHORT WAVE TO THE NORTH/VORT LOBE OVER THE EAST/PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OF GREATER THAN 1.25 INCHES/NEG LI ALL POINT TO A FAIRLY ACTIVE DAY FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING WITH THE MAIN CONCERN BEING HEAVY RAINFALL. BY THURSDAY THE NORTHERN TROUGH HAS SHIFTED EAST/VORT LOBE WELL OUT OF THE AREA...TO RESULT IN AN DRIER WEST FLOW ALOFT...ESPECIALLY LINCOLN/CLARK/SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES AND WILL TRIM POPS BACK IN THESE AREAS. DRIER FLOW TO THEN CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY WITH CONVECTION BEING CONFINED TO MAINLY EAST OF THE CWA. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR NORMAL BUT DEBRIS CLOUDINESS MAY KEEP OVERNIGHT LOWS HIGHER THAN EXPECTED ACROSS THE EAST AND AS MENTIONED IN THE PREV DISCUSSION...POINT TEMPERATURES WILL BE GREATLY AFFECTED BY THE LOCATION AND TIMING OF THUNDERSTORMS BOTH DAYS. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...STILL LOOK FOR AN EVENTUAL DRY SOUTHWEST FLOW BY THE END OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD...BUT BEFORE THEN WILL NEED TO CONTEND WITH SOME POTENTIAL CONVECTION SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY IN THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE CWA. THE GFS IN PARTICULAR CONTINUES TO SHOW A PERIOD OF SOUTH FLOW AND GRABS HOLD OF AMPLE MOISTURE AND BRINGS IT INTO MOHAVE COUNTY THIS WEEKEND. DID INCREASE THE THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE THIS WEEKEND IN MOHAVE COUNTY TO GO ALONG WITH THE GFS CONTINUED EMPHASIS ON THIS MOISTURE INFLUX. IT IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION TO HAVE THE MOISTURE ADVECTION COVER MORE AREAS TO THE NORTHWEST INTO CLARK AND LINCOLN COUNTIES...HOWEVER WILL NOT JUMP THIS AS OF NOW. TEMPERATURES I LEFT ALONE AS GUIDANCE SHOWS NO COMPELLING REASON TO CHANGE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD RUN AT OR A LITTLE ABOVE NORMAL. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...THERE IS A POSSIBILITY FOR A THUNDERSTORM TO MOVE THROUGH THE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING. WILL NEED TO WATCH THE MCCULLOUGH RANGE OR THE INTERSTATE 15 CORRIDOR AS THE STORM MOTION WILL BE FROM THE SOUTHWEST. OUTFLOWS FROM NEARBY STORMS WILL MORE LIKELY BE A FACTOR TO CONTEND WITH AND MAY NECESSITATE AMENDMENTS TO THE TAF AS NEEDED. OUTSIDE OF THE CONVECTION INFLUENCED AREAS EXPECT SOUTH WINDS AT 10 TO 20 KNOTS TODAY. CEILINGS OUTSIDE OF THE STORMS...IF THEY EXIST...WILL BE PRIMARILY HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS FROM STORM TOPS. CONVECTION WILL SUBSIDE AFTER SUNSET AND WILL FIRE UP AGAIN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WHEN CHANCES FOR STORMS IN THE VALLEY WILL BE BETTER. OF THE APPROACH CORRIDORS PEACH SPRINGS WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY AFFECTED BY THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND WEDNESDAY. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...WINDS WILL MAINLY FOLLOW DIURNAL DIRECTIONAL TRENDS... WITH THE TYPICAL AFTERNOON AND EVENING INCREASE FROM THE SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WITH LOCAL GUSTS OF 15-20 KTS EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS THE MOJAVE DESERT REGION THROUGH THIS EVENING AND AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && JENSEN/JACQUES HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 234 AM PDT TUE AUG 17 2010 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ523>527-NVZ015>022-180700- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS- LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT- EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN-CADIZ BASIN- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-LINCOLN COUNTY- NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY- SHEEP RANGE-SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY- SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY- 234 AM PDT TUE AUG 17 2010 /234 AM MST TUE AUG 17 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT...WITH THE GREATEST CHANCES SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 15. ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING AND SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING ARE EXPECTED AGAIN WEDNESDAY. DRIER AIR WILL MOVE IN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...AND HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED ON THOSE DAYS. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES MAY RETURN OVER THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT LIKELY. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. CAZ519>522-NVZ014-180700- EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES-OWENS VALLEY-WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY- DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY- 234 AM PDT TUE AUG 17 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MORGAN
The Las Vegas radar (KESX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:58 UTC.
2 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Water up to two and a half feet deep flowed across roads, washed out a driveway, and also took out several signs and shrubs. A rain gage nearby measured 2.76 inches of rain in one hour.
A firefighter and a motel employee nearby both estimated 60 mph winds. A roof was torn off a mobile home, several power lines were blown down, and a Joshua tree was blown down. Hail up to dime size also fell.
Over two feet of water flowed across Pierce Ferry Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2010
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: 250665, 250666, 250667.