A significant push of monsoon moisture fueled an outbreak of thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. Many 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.
A significant push of monsoon moisture fueled an outbreak of thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. Many 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 18, 1:25 PM PST, 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 225 PM PDT MON AUG 18 2014 .SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DROPPING DOWN THE WEST COAST WILL HELP DRAW MONSOON MOISTURE NORTH...LEADING TO A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA AT LEAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL COOL A FEW DEGREES EACH DAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. && .SHORT TERM...THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...MOISTURE HAD INCREASED DRAMATICALLY OVER THE EASTERN CWA SINCE YESTERDAY...AND THIS WAS LEADING TO THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOHAVE COUNTY AND JUST STARTING TO DEVELOP OVER CLARK AND EXTREME EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO AND INYO AT 2 PM. ACTIVE WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING AND PROBABLY OVERNIGHT AS WEAK IMPULSE COMES AROUND THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF THE MAIN LOW DROPPING DOWN THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT TOMORROW IN RESPONSE TO THE APPROACHING LOW WILL PUSH THE MOISTURE A LITTLE BIT EAST...BUT ONLY FAR ENOUGH TO LIMIT POPS TO AREAS EAST OF A LINE FROM VIDAL JUNCTION TO HIKO. TEMPERATURES WILL COME DOWN SOME MORE TOMORROW WITH THE ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER AND FALLING HEIGHTS ALOFT. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...MADE A FEW MINOR TWEAKS TO THE LONG TERM FORECAST WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. AFTER THAT POINT MODELS DIVERGE TO THE POINT WHERE LITTLE VALUE CAN BE ADDED OVER THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. BY EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL BE SITUATED OVER SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA PLACING A 70-80KT JET OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. THESE DYNAMICS WILL ALLOW FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE FROM TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. POPS WERE INCREASED THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS POSSIBILITY. MODEL DIFFERENCE IN THE PATH OF THE LOW AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF MOISTURE BEGIN AS EARLY AS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS TO BE ABOUT A 60/40 SPLIT IN THE DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE WITH THE MAJORITY LEANING TOWARD MORE PROGRESSIVE SOLUTIONS WHICH TAKE THE LOW ON AN EASTERLY TRACK ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST [THE OTHER 40 PERCENT STALL THE LOW AND ALLOW IT TO MEANDER OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC]. THAT SAID...CONFIDENCE IS FAIRLY LOW ON HOW FAST ANY OF THIS WOULD HAPPEN. IN ANY CASE HAVE CONTINUED THE TREND OF GRADUALLY DRYING THINGS OUT THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE ALREADY BELOW NORMAL FORECAST TEMPERATURES WERE COOLED SLIGHTLY DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK BEFORE THE DRYING TREND ALLOWS TEMPS TO CLIMB BY THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...IT IS UNLIKELY...BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE...TO SEE A THUNDERSTORM AT THE TERMINAL THROUGH TOMORROW. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE PRESENT IN THE MORMON MESA AND PEACH SPRINGS CORRIDORS...AND COULD LEAD TO SHIFTING WINDS AT THE TERMINAL. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...THERE WILL BE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT EAST OF A LINE FROM AMBOY TO RACHEL...AND EAST OF A LINE FROM VIDAL JUNCTION TO HIKO TUESDAY. THE MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE GUSTY SHIFTING WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH LOW CEILINGS. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT INSTANCES OF FLASH FLOODING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HAIL...AND BLOWING DUST TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY. && MORGAN/WOLCOTT FOR MORE FORECAST INFORMATION...SEE US ON OUR WEBPAGE: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS OR FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
The Edwards AFB radar (KEYX), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:12 UTC.
9 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
The KDAG ASOS reported a gust to 60 mph. Sixteen power poles were blown down along Newberry Springs Road, forcing the road to be closed. Trees were blown down and a garage door was damaged in Newberry Springs.
A spotter measured 1.72 inches of rain, and reported that all road within about three square miles were closed due to flooding.
Water six to seven inches deep flowed over Highway 127.
Highway 95 was closed from Goffs Road to about 12 miles south of the Nevada state line due to flooding. Twelve vehicles were stranded between two washouts.
Thunderstorm winds blew a tree onto a vehicle at a rest area on Interstate 40.
Several accidents occurred along Interstate 15 near Nipton Road due to heavy rain, including one rollover and one jack knifed big rig. One person was injured (indirect).
Essex Road was flooded near Interstate 40.
Rocks and debris washed over Nipton Road near Interstate 15.
Rocks washed across National Trails Highway near Danby Road.
Six to eight inches of water flowed over Morning Star Mine Road between mile markers 1 and 3.
Cima Road was flooded near Interstate 15.
Mud and debris washed over Highway 62 near Utah Trail, and the edges of the pavement were washed out.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2014
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: 538921, 538922, 538923, 538924, 538925, 538926, 538927, 538928, 538929, 538930, 538931, 538932.