An upper low moving down the coast pulled in just enough monsoon moisture to trigger isolated thunderstorms over the Desert Southwest.
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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.
An upper low moving down the coast pulled in just enough monsoon moisture to trigger isolated thunderstorms over the Desert Southwest.
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 Sep 20, 8:16 AM PST, 5 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 916 AM PDT SAT SEP 20 2014 .SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CIRCULATING NEAR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST WILL PULL MOISTURE ACROSS SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA TODAY LEADING TO SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE SYSTEM WILL LIFT AWAY TO THE NORTHEAST BY LATE SUNDAY FOLLOWED BY DRY CONDITIONS AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. && .UPDATE... MOISTURE CONTINUES TO INCREASE ACROSS OUR AREA...WRAPPING CYCLONICALLY AROUND THE UPPER LOW CENTERED NEAR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE AROUND THIS MORNING...BUT EXPECT COVERAGE TO INCREASE AS WE HEAD INTO THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH INCREASING INSTABILITY. LINCOLN AND NYE COUNTIES SHOULD SEE THE BEST COVERAGE LATER TODAY...SO HAVE INCREASED POPS A BIT ACROSS THOSE AREAS. AS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...AVERAGE STORM MOTION WILL BE AROUND 20 MPH OR SO...WITH STORMS MOVING FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST. NOT ANTICIPATING A WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOOD THREAT WITH THESE STORM SPEEDS. STILL NOT PLANNING ON ISSUING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH. HOWEVER...THERE CAN BE SOME ISOLATED AREAS WHERE TRAINING CONVECTION FOR A PERIOD OF TIME MAY WARRANT THE ISSUANCE OF A FLASH FLOOD WARNING HERE AND THERE. STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE SOME GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 45 MPH AND PERHAPS SOME SMALL HAIL. SO PLEASE KEEP ALERT OF CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS...PARTICULARLY IF YOU HAVE OUTDOOR PLANS. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... 340 AM PDT SAT SEP 20 2014 .SHORT TERM...THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...SATELLITE LOOPS SHOWED MID LEVEL CLOUD COVER PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING ACROSS NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST NEVADA. THIS WAS DUE TO THE CYCLONIC FLOW AROUND THE CLOSED CENTERED NEAR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST BEGINNING TO PULL MOISTURE OVER ARIZONA TOWARD THE NORTHWEST. MOISTURE CONTENT IS QUITE HIGH OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA WITH PWAT VALUES GENERALLY 1.25-1.75 INCHES. THIS MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT ACROSS NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA TODAY AND TONIGHT AND INTERACT WITH THE BROAD UPWARD FORCING OF THE CLOSED LOW WHICH WILL SLOWLY LIFT TO THE NORTHEAST. ALL OPERATIONAL AND HIGH RES MODELS ARE IN QUITE GOOD AGREEMENT AT DEPICTING WIDESPREAD QPF ACROSS ACROSS CENTRAL NYE...LINCOLN AND MOHAVE COUNTIES WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN COVERAGE DEPICTED ACROSS CLARK...EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES AND ZONES FARTHER TO THE WEST AND SOUTH. LINCOLN AND MOHAVE COUNTIES SHOULD SEE AVERAGE QPF AMOUNTS OF 0.25-0.50 INCHES WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OVER 1 INCH POSSIBLE. HOWEVER...INDIVIDUAL STORM MOVEMENT SHOULD BE OVER 15-20 MPH OR HIGHER WHICH SHOULD DIMINISH WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOOD THREAT. NO FLASH FLOOD WATCH PLANNED. ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL GET STARTED THIS MORNING THEN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST TONIGHT ACROSS THE AFOREMENTIONED FAVORED COUNTIES. AS THE CLOSED LOW CONTINUES TO LIFT ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST NEVADA SUNDAY...DRIER AIR WILL LEAD TO DECREASING COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. TEMPERATURES WILL TREND DOWNWARD SEVERAL DEGREES WITH THE INCREASING CLOUD COVER...SHOWERS AND HEIGHT FALLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW. .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING WILL BUILD BACK INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES BEGINNING MONDAY AND CONTINUING THROUGH MIDWEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN WARMING TEMPERATURES AND DRY CONDITIONS WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS AVERAGING BETWEEN 4 AND 8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR LATE SEPTEMBER. THINGS BEGIN TO CHANGE ON THURSDAY AS A STRONG PACIFIC TROUGH BEGINS TO NUDGE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND THE FLOW AMPLIFIES ACROSS THE CONUS. THIS WILL LEAD TO INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH LOCALLY STRONG WINDS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE DOWNSLOPE FAVORED TERRAIN OF THE SIERRA AND OWENS VALLEY WHERE GUSTS COULD EXCEED 40 MPH AT TIMES. FRIDAY AND BEYOND...DETAILS RAPIDLY DIVERGE DURING THE LATTER PORTION OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST DEPENDING ON WHICH FORECAST MODEL YOU CHOOSE. THE LATEST ECMWF GUIDANCE DEVELOPS THE PAC NW TROUGHING INTO A SHARPLY AMPLIFIED WEST COAST TROUGH THAT EVENTUALLY CLOSES OFF OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND MEANDERS OVER THE NORTHERN GREAT BASIN INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...AN UNSETTLED PATTERN TO SAY THE LEAST. THE GFS GUIDANCE IS MUCH MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE TROUGH AND PUSHES THE TROUGH AXIS EAST OF OUR FORECAST AREA BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. MEANWHILE MANY OF THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEMBERS DEVELOP THE TROUGH IN SOME MANNER IN BETWEEN, WITH MANY KEEPING A CLOSED LOW SOMEWHERE OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY...DIDN'T MAKE ANY MAJOR CHANGES TO THE PRECIPITATION CHANCES BUT CONTINUED TO TREND TEMPERATURES COOLER FOR THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...MOISTURE WILL INCREASE TODAY LEADING TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. PREVAILING WINDS WILL BE SOUTHEAST AROUND 5-8 KTS LATE THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON BUT GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING DUE TO SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE TERMINAL AREA. STORM COVERAGE WILL BE MOST EXTENSIVE IN PEACH SPRINGS AND MORMON MESA CORRIDORS. BKN-OVC CLOUDS WILL GENERALLY HAVE BASES 8-10 KFT BUT WILL LIKELY LOWER TO AROUND 6 KFT NEAR ANY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. A CLEARING TREND WILL OCCUR SUNDAY. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...MOISTURE WILL INCREASE TODAY OVER MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA WITH TO SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. LOWERING CLOUDS BASES WILL LEAD TO MARGINAL VFR CONDITIONS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA WITH MOUNTAIN OBSCUREMENT LIKELY. A CLEARING TREND WILL OCCUR FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST SUNDAY. && .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. && UPDATE...PADDOCK SHORT TERM/AVIATION...ADAIR LONG TERM...OUTLER 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), 235 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck and set fire to two power poles along Highway 95 at Nye County mile marker 79. Rain extinguished the fire.
Lightning struck and set fire to the abandoned historic Rhyolite Mercantile Building, destroying it.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, September 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: 542930, 542931.