The first seasonal push of monsoon moisture fueled an outbreak of thunderstorms across the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. 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.
The first seasonal push of monsoon moisture fueled an outbreak of thunderstorms across the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. 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 Jul 5, 9:57 AM PST, 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 1057 AM PDT SAT JUL 5 2014 .SYNOPSIS...MONSOON MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD TO THE NORTHWEST RESULTING IN A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR MUCH OF THE AREA OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ARE LIKELY TO CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE NEW WORK WEEK. COOLER TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED AS A RESULT OF THIS MOISTURE INCREASE. && .UPDATE... THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS PRIMED FOR ANOTHER ACTIVE DAY ACROSS THE REGION. JUST DID A QUICK UPDATE TO THE FORECAST TO ADJUST BOTH THE AREAL EXTENT AND COVERAGE FOR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ARE FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALREADY FIRING OVER EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. THEY WILL BE THE FIRST AREA TO SEE ACTION TODAY. MOHAVE AND CLARK COUNTY WILL GET GOING SHORTLY AS WELL. LINCOLN COUNTY FORECAST HAS BEEN ADJUSTED SOME. DEW POINTS HAVE BEEN ON THE RISE OVER THE LAST 12 HOURS AND IT APPEARS THAT THE THREAT OF DRY LIGHTNING IS WANING FAST. EARLY THUNDERSTORMS MAY HAVE A BIT OF DRY LIGHTNING...BUT LATER THIS AFTERNOON THAT WILL GIVE WAY TO MORE WET STORMS. ALSO A MAJOR CONCERN IS THE THREAT OF A NORTHEAST FLOW THUNDERSTORM LATER TONIGHT. STORM PROPAGATION WILL TURN TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST LATER THIS EVENING IF THE FORECAST LOW LEVEL FLOW STRENGTHEN FROM THE SW. THIS MAY MEAN THAT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN SW UTAH MAY ROLL RIGHT DOWN INTO LINCOLN AND CLARK COUNTIES. TYPICALLY THESE TYPE EVENTS CAUSE WIND DAMAGE. IT IS TOO EARLY TO TELL IF THAT WILL HAPPEN THIS EVENING. BUT WE WILL KEEP AN EYE ON IT. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...GENERALLY SOUTHEAST WINDS AROUND 4-7 KTS ARE EXPECTED THIS MORNING BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO MORE EASTERLY AROUND 16Z. HOWEVER...WINDS WILL BE GUSTY AND ERRATIC WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. CEILINGS WITH THUNDERSTORMS COULD DROP TO 7-8 KFT IF STORMS MOVE DIRECTLY OVER THE TERMINAL. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...GENERALLY BREEZY SOUTH WINDS EXPECTED TODAY WITH A FEW GUSTS TO 25 KTS. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO...MOHAVE...EXTREME SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTIES THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS WILL SPREAD ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA LATER TODAY AND SUNDAY. ERRATIC AND GUSTY WINDS NEAR STORMS ALONG WITH CEILINGS DOWN TO 7-10 KFT. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 450 AM PDT SAT JUL 5 2014/ .SHORT TERM...THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...CONVECTION ACROSS THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY LAST NIGHT BROUGHT MEASURABLE RAINFALL TO MCCARRAN AIRPORT AND AN END TO THE DRY STREAK. THE MONSOON MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE TODAY. THE KVEF 00Z SOUNDING INDICATED A PW OF 1.06 INCHES. LATEST GFS/NAM/SREF DATA SUGGESTS PWS WILL RANGE BETWEEN ROUGHLY 1.4 INCHES TODAY TO 1.2 INCHES MONDAY. WITH PW VALUES IN THIS RANGE...HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WITH STORMS THAT DEVELOP. LOCALIZED FLOODING IS A CONCERN WHERE STORMS REPEATEDLY DEVELOP OVER AN AREA. LOWER AVAILABLE MOISTURE CONTENT FARTHER NORTH IN OUR CWA...PARTICULARLY ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY MEANS LESS WETTING RAIN. WILL CONTINUE THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THIS AREA. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE /INVERTED TROUGH/ ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN CWA AND PLENTIFUL MOISTURE MEANS THE CHANCE OF CONVECTION CONTINUES TODAY THROUGH MONDAY. STILL EXPECT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION FOR MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. HOWEVER...IT MAY START A LITTLE LATER IN SOME AREAS BECAUSE OF LINGERING DEBRIS CLOUDS. THE INVERTED TROUGH WILL INCREASE BULK SHEAR TO 20-30 KNOTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH STORM MOTION BEING NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST. THIS UPPER LEVEL FEATURE WILL KEEP SPREADING MOISTURE AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES NORTH AND WEST...WITH THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA SEEING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS BY TOMORROW AND CONTINUING MONDAY. SHOULD ALSO SEE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS GOING THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS FOR SOME LOCATIONS...AS THE UPPER LEVEL FORCING REMAINS ACROSS THE AREA. THIS IS EVIDENT THIS MORNING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SAN BERNARDINO...CLARK...AND MOHAVE COUNTIES. WITH THE MOISTURE INCREASE...TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLER. HOWEVER...MOISTURE IS FORECAST TO GRADUALLY DECREASE EACH DAY...SO TEMPS SHOULD SLIGHTLY EDGE UPWARD. .LONG TERM....TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...BIG QUESTIONS ARISE FOR NEXT WEEK REGARDING THE MONSOON OUTLOOK. THE ECMWF HAD BEEN CONSISTENTLY THE DRIER SOLUTION WHEN COMPARED TO THE GFS BUT NOW THE 00Z RUN HAS SWAPPED PLACES WITH THE GFS AND HAS BECOME THE WET SOLUTION WHILE THE 00Z GFS TRENDS DRIER EACH DAY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS WOULD HAVE HUGE IMPLICATIONS FOR POSSIBLE IMPACTS ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. THE GFS WOULD SUGGEST GARDEN VARIETY TYPE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LESSENING COVERAGE EACH DAY. THE ECMWF, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS FORECASTING A INVERTED TROUGH AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE OVER SONORA MEXICO MOVING INTO SOUTHERN ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THEN ROLLING INTO SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTH EASTERN NEVADA. IF THIS WERE TO COME TO PASS, WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WOULD BE LIKELY. THE BOTTOM LINE FOR ME IS THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A GOOD REASON AT THIS TIME (E.G., DRY SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW) TO FLUSH OUT THE MOISTURE, OR CONVERSELY, NO TROPICAL TAP IS FORECAST WHICH COULD SHARPLY RAMP UP ACTIVITY. THUS, CONTINUED DOWN THE WELL TRAVELED ROAD OF DAILY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH THE BEST COVERAGE ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA AND LESSER CHANCES IN THE WEST. OVERALL, THE FORECAST TENDS TO KEEP TEMPERATURES LOWER IN THE EAST AND HOTTER IN THE WEST. .FIRE WEATHER...DRY THUNDERSTORMS AND NEW FIRE STARTS REMAIN A CONCERN ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE MONSOON MOISTURE PUSH TODAY. A RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE LINCOLN COUNTY ELY DISPATCH AREA THROUGH TONIGHT. A FEW WET STORMS MAY PUSH INTO SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY BUT STORMS OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN MOSTLY DRY. GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH ANY STORMS CREATING CONTAINMENT PROBLEMS AND DANGEROUS CONDITIONS FOR THOSE FIGHTING ANY FIRES. && UPDATE: LERICOS PREVIOUS: PADDOCK/PIERCE/SALMEN 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 348 AM PDT SAT JUL 5 2014 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-061100- 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- 348 AM PDT SAT JUL 5 2014 /348 AM MST SAT JUL 5 2014/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS AND BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME DRY LIGHTNING IS POSSIBLE ACROSS MAINLY LINCOLN COUNTY ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE MOISTURE GRADIENT...WHERE A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING. BLOWING DUST IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE LOWER DESERTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY MONSOON MOISTURE WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE REGION INTO THE NEW WORK WEEK. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE ERRATIC GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING FOR MOST OF THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:00 UTC.
11 flash flood, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Many roads in Twentynine Palms were flooded, and several drivers had to be rescued. A spotter measured 1.92 inches of rain in two hours.
Thunderstorm winds blew down at least 14 power poles in Twentynine Palms, knocking out power to 2,000 customers.
Highway 95 was closed between Interstate 40 and Highway 62 due to flooding in multiple places. There was at least one swift water rescue.
Roads in and around Baker, including Kelbaker Road and Highway 127, were closed due to flooding. Several vehicles were stuck.
Parts of Highway 178 were closed near Shoshone due to flooding.
Dante's View Road was closed due to flooding.
Thunderstorm winds blew down 6-8 inch tree branches.
Water and debris flowed over Highway 95.
Several trucks were stuck in about a foot of flowing water near A Street and Main Street.
The intersection of Highways 95 and 62 was flooded with lots of debris.
Thunderstorm winds blew down two 12-foot tall trees.
Flash flooding closed several roads in, north, and south of Needles.
A car was stuck in flash flooding at the intersection of Del Rey Drive and Pahaska Trail.
Multiple vehicles were stuck in flowing water two to three feet deep on Highway 95.
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, July 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: 536221, 536222, 536227, 536231, 536234, 536236, 536240, 536241, 536243, 536247, 536248, 536250, 536252, 536254, 536255.