Another push of monsoon moisture fueled an outbreak of thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Several storms produced flash flooding and severe weather.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Another push of monsoon moisture fueled an outbreak of thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Several storms produced flash flooding and severe weather.
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 29, 1:40 PM PST, 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 240 PM PDT WED JUL 29 2015 .SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE WILL SPREAD FURTHER NORTH THURSDAY ALLOWING FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO RETURN PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER FROM FRIDAY INTO NEXT MONDAY THEN BEGIN TO DECREASE IN MOST AREAS ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS DRIER AIR MOVES BACK IN. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR NORMAL THROUGH THE WEEKEND WARMING TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS INITIATED OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE IN NORTHEAST SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHORTLY AFTER NOON. ALSO MONITORING STORMS IN THE WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT AROUND BARSTOW. CONFIDENT THAT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL MAKE IT AS FAR NORTH AS SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY THEN DISSIPATE IN THE EARLY EVENING AS THEY ENCOUNTER LESS MOISTURE. LEFT POPS OUT LAS VEGAS VALLEY BUT WILL BE MONITORING THE POTENTIAL OF ANY OUTFLOW WIND COMING FROM THOSE STORMS TO OUR SOUTH. A FEATURE OF INTEREST IS AN INVERTED TROUGH OVER THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY WHICH IS FORECAST TO PIVOT WEST ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TONIGHT. THIS SHOULD KEEP AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS GOING WELL PAST MIDNIGHT IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. MODELS FORECAST THE REMAINING CONVECTION ACROSS SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY AND SOUTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY TO DISSIPATE THIS EVENING. THURSDAY. A LOBE OF VORTICITY ASSOCIATED WITH INVERTED TROUGH WILL BE MOVING NORTHWEST OVER INYO COUNTY. DEEPER MOISTURE OVER THE MOJAVE DESERT EXPECTED TO SHIFT FURTHER NORTH INTO THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN. CONVECTION WILL BE TIED MAINLY TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN BUT CAN NOT RULE OUT A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM MAKING IT INTO LAS VEGAS TOMORROW EVENING. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THE WEAK UPPER LOW NEAR SOUTHERN BAJA WILL FINALLY OPEN UP AND MOVE NORTHWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT WHICH AGAIN COULD HELP FOCUS CONVECTION OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. MODELS STARTING TO SHOW A DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR MASS MOVING IN BEHIND THIS FEATURE SATURDAY. DID NOT DECREASE POPS WITH THIS PACKAGE BUT IF THAT TREND CONTINUES WE COULD START LOWERING POPS IN THE WESTERN AREAS. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. IT IS LOOKING LIKE A LOW GRADE MONSOON PATTERN FOR THIS PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS REGION SUNDAY WILL KEEP A SOUTHERLY FLOW OVER THE AREA AND ENOUGH MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY FOR AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AREA WIDE. THE MODELS DO NOT REALLY SHOW MUCH OF A SHIFT IN THE HIGH CENTER WITH TIME BUT THEY ARE HINTING AT THE FLOW MAYBE BECOMING MORE SOUTHWESTERLY WITH SOME DRYING ACROSS THE WESTERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH TIME. SINCE THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE BOTH SHOWING THIS TREND I WENT AHEAD AND LOWERED POPS A TOUCH IN THE WEST SUNDAY AND MONDAY AND LOWERED POPS A BIT MORE FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. IF YOU BELIEVE THE MODELS THERE MAY NOT BE ANY THUNDERSTORMS IN THE CWA BY TUESDAY BUT AS WE HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE...THE MODELS FREQUENTLY GET TOO AGGRESSIVE FLUSHING MOISTURE OUT THIS TIME OF YEAR. SO I KEPT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY FOR MAINLY MOHAVE AND LINCOLN COUNTIES AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF CLARK COUNTY. I KEPT TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO OR JUST SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE LONG TERM WHICH IS CLOSE TO THE GFS MEX GUIDANCE. I AM NOT READY TO BUY THE SIGNIFICANT WARMING INDICATED BY THE ECE GUIDANCE WHICH HAS TEMPERATURES 5 PLUS DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...THUNDERSTORMS WILL STAY SOUTH OF LAS VEGAS BUT MAY AFFECT THE DAGGETT APPROACH CORRIDORS. CONFIDENCE LOW IN OUTFLOW WIND FROM THOSE STORMS AFFECTING LAS VEGAS TERMINALS BUT IT DOES BEAR MONITORING. EASTERLY COMPONENT WILL TRANSITION SOUTHERLY OVERNIGHT WITH SPEEDS LESS THAN 10 KTS. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY OVER THE MOUNTAINS MOSTLY WEST AND SOUTH OF LAS VEGAS. BEATTY, DAGGETT AND PEACH SPRINGS CORRIDORS WILL BE IMPACTED BY THUNDERSTORMS. ANY OUTFLOW FROM STORMS WILL BE CLOSELY MONITORED. THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN IN AREAS SOUTH OF A KNID-KIGM LINE WITH SCT- BKN CLOUDS AVERAGING AOA 10-12K FEET TONIGHT. LOWER CIGS AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE NEAR STRONGER STORMS. MOSTLY CLEAR NORTH OF A KNID- KIGM LINE. ON THURSDAY THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN SPREAD FURTHER NORTH INTO INYO COUNTY AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION...PIERCE LONG TERM...HARRISON FOR MORE FORECAST INFORMATION...SEE US ON OUR WEBPAGE: HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS OR FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
The Santa Ana Mts radar (KSOX), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:33 UTC.
8 flash flood, 3 dust storm, 2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Water one foot deep flowed over Reche Road at Sunny Vista.
Lightning knocked out power to 336 customers near Indian Trail and La Buena Tierra Ave.
Lightning knocked out power to 264 customers near Winter Road and Giant Rock Road.
Roads were flooded with water and debris.
Visibility dropped to 1/16 mile at Bicycle Lake. Thunderstorm winds also gusted to 60 mph.
Flood waters two to three feet deep flowed over Interstate 15, stopping traffic in both directions. The side of the roadway washed away.
A car was stalled in floodwaters along Highway 127 15 miles NNW of Baker.
Highway 62 flooded in several locations between Rice Ave. and Joshua Tree.
One foot of water flowed over Highway 95 at mile marker 50, partially washing out the road. Three feet of water also flowed over W. Monumental Pass Rd.
Multiple homes were flooded in the 74000 block of Diamond Bar Road.
Flash flooding damaged Kelbaker Road in Kelso.
Dust storm conditions dropped visibility to 1/4 mile at Bicycle Lake.
Dust storm conditions dropped visibility to 1/4 mile in Amboy.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 2015
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: 584843, 584855, 584853, 584859, 584862, 584864, 594811, 584876, 584886, 584896, 584897, 584900, 584901.