Residual moisture helped fuel spotty thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. A few storms produced strong winds.
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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.
Residual moisture helped fuel spotty thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. A few storms produced strong winds.
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 24, 1:10 PM PST, 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Las Vegas NV
210 PM PDT Tue Jul 24 2018
.SYNOPSIS...A disturbance moving from southern Nevada toward
southwest Utah will enhance thunderstorm development through this
evening. Storms should be more inhibited across much of the region
Wednesday and Thursday, except the southern Sierra and high
mountains as a strong area of high pressure builds over the
southwest states. This will lead to dangerously hot conditions
across the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin much of this week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...through Thursday night.
Thunderstorm development has been aided today by a disturbance which
could be seen on water vapor imagery lifting from southeast
California up over southern Nevada. Most operational models indicate
this will continue moving over southeast Nevada and southwest Utah.
Convective cell movement will be to the north-northeast around 15
mph though this evening. One thing worth noting, recent runs of the
HRRR model indicate the possibility of storms around southeast Nevada
and southwest Utah producing southwestward propagating cold pool
which could bring storms down the I-15 corridor toward Las Vegas
later this evening... as we have already seen more than a few times
this month. It's worth watching. The threat of outflow induced
thunderstorms will diminish late this evening and overnight.
The biggest impact through Thursday continues to be the excessive
heat which has been long advertised. The moisture that has provided
fuel for thunderstorms will largely be trapped under the strong area
of high pressure which will be migrating from eastern Arizona
directly over southern Nevada and surrounding states...and likely
becoming anchored the rest of the week. This will help stabilize the
atmosphere...along with boosting temperatures...but will not
completely eliminate the chance of thunderstorms over the mountains
and especially the higher terrain near central Nevada.
.LONG TERM...Friday through Monday.
Models forecast a high pressure ridge holding tough over the western
CONUS Friday through Monday. Confidence in the temperature forecast
is wavering a bit with MOS guidance now extending hot conditions
(110+ in Las Vegas) into Saturday. Although temperatures are
forecast to decrease a degree or three on Friday, some consideration
may be needed in extending the Excessive Heat Warning through Friday
and, if MOS guidance trends continue, possibly Saturday as well. The
reasoning would not be due to near record heat as covered under the
current warning but, factoring in the duration of the event and the
increasing outdoor activity heading into a weekend.
Models show a general increasing trend in moisture with PWAT values
from .75-1.00 inch across the CWA Friday to more than an inch PWATs
over the southern half of the forecast area by Monday. The areas of
forecasted deeper moisture coupled with daytime instability and the
potential for weak uplift provided by disturbances or boundaries
could fuel a few thunderstorms over the far southeastern CWA. This
would be especially true if the high center were to shift a little
bit to the east, presenting a more favorable steering flow. &&
&&
.CLIMATE...Near record temperatures are expected through
Friday this week. The table below shows the record temperatures
this week and the year recorded for McCarran (Las Vegas),
Death Valley, Needles, Barstow/Daggett, Bishop and Kingman.
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES (YEAR)
---------------------------------------------
TUE (7/24) WED(7/25) THU(7/26) FRI(7/27)
LOCATION ---------------------------------------------
McCarran | 117 (1942) 115(1942) 116(1943) 115(2016)
Death Valley | 126 (2006) 126(2006) 127(1933) 127(1933)
Needles | 119 (2006) 120(1943) 118(1959) 119(2016)
Barstow/Daggett | 112 (2016) 115(1975) 114(1995) 115(1995)
Bishop | 107 (2016) 107(2016) 108(1975) 108(2016)
Kingman | 107 (1928) 107(1943) 108(1934) 108(1934)
&&
.AVIATION...For McCarran...Scattered thunderstorms have developed
around the airspace this afternoon, with the main development being
over the mountains to the west, as well as a cluster of storm south
of the Las Vegas Valley. This will be the main focus over the next
few hours, with the potential for gusty outflow winds out of the
south from the stronger cluster of storms. Some of the showers or
storms may drift into the valley through the evening, mainly over
HND, however it is low confidence at this time. More likely impacts
would be the gusty winds.
Attention then turns to the potential for gusty north to northeast
winds this evening with any outflow thunderstorm winds from the
north. Low confidence at this time for this to occur, but if this
did develop the most likely timing would be 02-06Z tonight, with
gusts over 30kts possible.
Outside of thunderstorm influence, expect diurnal winds less than
8kts.
For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast
California...Isolated thunderstorms will develop this afternoon over
the southern Sierra but other development will continue over
southern Nevada and northwest Arizona according to the the latest
model output. Beyond thunderstorm influences, generally tranquil
weather is expected with winds less than 15 knots and SCT clouds
with bases above 12 kft.
&&
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report
any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating
procedures.
&&
SHORT TERM...Adair
LONG TERM...Salmen
AVIATION...Wolf
CLIMATE...Boothe
For more forecast information...see us on our webpage:
http://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and TwitterPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
936 AM PDT TUE JUL 24 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0515 PM DEBRIS FLOW 1 S ASPENDELL 37.23N 118.60W
07/23/2018 INYO CA LAW ENFORCEMENT
PARTIAL CLEARING OF SUNDAYS DEBRIS FLOW WAS
IMPAIRED BY ADDITIONAL MUDSLIDES FOLLOWING
HEAVY RAIN IN THE AREA TODAY. CLEANUP CREWS
ESSENTIALLY ARE STARTING FROM SCRATCH AGAIN
TUESDAY.
&&The Las Vegas radar (KESX), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:31 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two large trees were blown down.
Two trees were blown down on the CSN Cheyenne campus.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, July 2018
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: 774138, 774139, 774140, 774141.