Five people died in the Las Vegas area on these three days. High temperatures were 105 or greater each day.
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.
Five people died in the Las Vegas area on these three days. High temperatures were 105 or greater each day.
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 Jul 17, 7:40 PM PST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 840 PM PDT WED JUL 17 2013 .SYNOPSIS...CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CONFINED MAINLY TO MOHAVE COUNTY THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN SPREAD WEST ON FRIDAY AND INCREASE OVER THE WEEKEND AS MONSOON MOISTURE RETURNS. THE MAIN THREATS OVER THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL BE HEAVY RAIN AND FLASH FLOODING. && .UPDATE...FORECAST IS BASICALLY ON TRACK FOR TONIGHT. TWEAKED SKY...POP AND WX TO REFLECT LATEST TRENDS FOR THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD OTHERWISE NO CHANGE NEEDED. MOHAVE COUNTY LOOKS TO BE THE PRIMARY FOCUS AREA FOR STORMS ON THURSDAY WHERE THE DEEPEST LAYER MOISTURE IS FORECAST. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...A THIN LAYER OF SMOKE MAY BE SEEN OVERNIGHT WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AOA 20K FEET. SOUTHWEST WINDS 8-10KTS TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY MORNING FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF EASTERLY WINDS IN THE LATE MORNING INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED IN THE PEACH SPRINGS AND MORMON MESA CORRIDORS THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL SPREAD FURTHER WEST FRIDAY AND INCREASE AREAWIDE OVER THE WEEKEND. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS ACROSS THE SOUTH OVERNIGHT. SMOKE COULD REDUCE VISIBILITY LOCALLY THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND SOUTHERN NEVADA THEN THIN. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL BE CONFINED MAINLY TO MOHAVE COUNTY THURSDAY...BEFORE PUSHING FURTHER WEST FRIDAY AND SPREADING ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA OVER THE WEEKEND. OUTSIDE OF THUNDERSTORMS OPERATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT CLOUDS AND WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...257 PM PDT... .SHORT TERM...MAIN CONCERNS FOR TONIGHT AND TOMORROW ARE SMOKE FROM THE MOUNTAIN FIRE AND CONVECTION ROLLING OFF THE RIM IN NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. VISIBLE SATELLITE SHOWED THE OLD SMOKE PLUME THINNING OUT OVER NEVADA BUT A NEW PLUME ERUPTING OVER THE FIRE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS PLUME WAS SPREADING OUT MORE SLOWLY...CONFIRMING MODEL FORECASTS OF WEAKENING WINDS IN THE 850-700 MB LAYER. THE WEAKENING WINDS SHOULD KEEP THE SMOKE CONFINED CLOSER TO THE FIRE TOMORROW...WITH THE MAIN CONCERN BEING WHETHER THE SMOKE LAYER WILL SETTLE TO THE SURFACE IN THE MORONGO BASIN OVERNIGHT. LOOKING FARTHER EAST...CONVECTION HAD FIRED OVER THE RIM COUNTRY IN ARIZONA AND WAS ROLLING SOUTHWEST. EXTRAPOLATION OF THE SATELLITE LOOP SUGGESTS THAT MOST OF THE STORMS WILL MISS MOHAVE COUNTY...BUT LEFT CHANCE POPS IN FAR SOUTH MOHAVE COUNTY LATE THIS EVENING TO ACCOUNT FOR TRACK UNCERTAINTY AND THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW DEVELOPMENT. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...OVERALL EVERYTHING IS STILL ON TRACK FOR AN INCREASE IN MONSOONAL MOISTURE THIS WEEKEND AND INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER CENTRAL NEVADA WITH AN INVERTED TROUGH PUSHING THROUGH NORTHERN MEXICO WILL HELP TURN THE FLOW MORE EASTERLY ALLOWING THE MOISTURE TO RETURN TO THE AREA. REALLY NOT EXPECTED TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE FRIDAY...BUT PORTIONS OF MOHAVE COUNTY AND INTO EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHOULD SEE A MORE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY INCREASES EVEN MORE SATURDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE 1 INCH PW LINE EXTENDING FROM ROUGHLY TWENTYNINE PALMS THROUGH CENTRAL CLARK COUNTY AND INTO THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF LINCOLN COUNTY. AREAS OF SOUTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY...THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AND EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY WILL SEE PW VALUES AROUND AN INCH AND A HALF OR GREATER. THIS COMBINED WITH LOW LI VALUES AND FAIRLY HIGH CAPE VALUES SHOULD LEAD TO MORE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAIN...BUT THE MODELS ARE INDICATING DECENT SHEAR VALUES OF OVER 25KTS FROM 0-6KM WHICH COULD LEAD TO THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS OVER THE FAR SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF THE CWA. EVEN MORE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY ADVECTS INTO THE REGION SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS THE 1 INCH PW LINE EXTENDS FURTHER NORTH AND THE 1.5 INCH LINE COVERS MUCH OF THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE CWA. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO MORE SCATTERED STORMS WITH A GREATER POTENTIAL OF HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING STORMS. THERE ARE SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES IN THE MODELS WHEN IT COMES TO THE AFOREMENTIONED INVERTED TROUGH STARTING TUESDAY. THE GFS REBUILDS THE HIGH BACK OVER NEVADA KEEPING THE TROUGH WELL SOUTH AND EVENTUALLY WORKING UP THE CALIFORNIA COAST BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THE ECMWF HOWEVER BRINGS ENERGY FROM THE TROUGH RIGHT UP INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THIS COULD ADD ADDITIONAL FORCING AND LEAD TO MORE WIDESPREAD STORMS. FOR NOW WILL LEAD THE FORECAST AS IS WHICH KEEPS GENERALLY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY THOUGH THURSDAY WITH THE GREATEST COVERAGE OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY BE NEAR NORMAL...BUT DAYS WITH SIGNIFICANT CLOUD COVER WILL BE HELD TO A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && UPDATE...SALMEN PREV DISC...MORGAN/GORELOW FOR MORE FORECAST INFORMATION...SEE US ON OUR WEBPAGE: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS OR FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 433 AM PDT WED JUL 17 2013 AZZ002-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-180700- LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-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- 433 AM PDT WED JUL 17 2013 /433 AM MST WED JUL 17 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MONSOON MOISTURE AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL GRADUALLY SPREAD NORTH AND WEST LATE IN THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. ALL AREAS WILL SEE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS BY SUNDAY AND CONTINUING THROUGH TUESDAY. STORMS SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ001-003-180700- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-NORTHWEST DESERTS- 433 AM MST WED JUL 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MOHAVE COUNTY...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL EXPECTED THURSDAY BUT THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE AT THE END OF THE WEEK AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST FOR FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN WITH THESE STORMS WILL INCREASE OVER THE WEEKEND AND CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Five people died of heat-related causes in the Las Vegas area.
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 | 2013-07-18 | 73 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2013-07-18 | 47 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2013-07-19 | 66 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2013-07-20 | 84 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2013-07-19 | 44 | Male | Permanent Structure | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, July 2013
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: 468668.