California, 2022

Flash Flooding and Flood in California, August 24 to 26, 2022

August 24 to 26, 2022 · NWS VEF · 14 events in 2 counties and zones

Monsoon moisture fueled scattered thunderstorms over southeast California. Many storms produced flash flooding, and a few produced severe weather.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$65,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
14

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS VEF wrote it up.

Monsoon moisture fueled scattered thunderstorms over southeast California. Many storms produced flash flooding, and a few produced severe weather.

What forecasters said that day

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 24, 11:09 AM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 24, 11:09 AM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Las Vegas NV
1209 PM PDT Wed Aug 24 2022

.SYNOPSIS...Monsoon moisture returns for much of the area on
southeast flow today, bringing increased thunderstorm chances for
today, Thursday, and possibly Friday. Gradual drying trend is
expected for the weekend which will continue into next week.

&&

.SHORT TERM...through Friday.

Starting to see convection initiate across the high terrain this
afternoon near the Spring Mountains, with additional activity
firing across the Colorado Plateau. Given the well mixed and
unstable 12z sounding sampled this morning at VEF, expecting
activity to develop quickly across the higher terrain before
propagating southward on outflow boundary interactions. Current
SPC Mesoanalysis suggests 500-1000 mixed layer CAPE extending
southern Lincoln county southward, before increasing to over 1500
j/kg near the Colorado River Valley.

Still favoring the 12z HREF's overall convective evolution, with
early day through late afternoon scattered activity favoring
Clark and Mohave counties before increasing in coverage and
propagating southward into the Colorado River Valley through the
evening. The Flash Flood risk will be greatest in this region
where storms will be developing into an increasingly moist and
unstable airmass within an environment of relatively weak
steering flow, leading to slow moving strong thunderstorms. The
Flash Flood Watch for these areas continues to look good through
the evening hours. In addition to the flood threat, at least an
isolated risk of damaging wind gusts will exist as a strengthening
cold pool moves into the hot and well-mixed Lower river valley.
Greatest risk for strong winds will exist from Laughlin to Lake
Havasu, though storms most anywhere today will be capable of
strong microburst winds.

Similar conditions will continue tomorrow though uncertainty
exists in morning cloud cover and overall storm coverage tomorrow.
With the concerns about how things will organize today and
ultimately influence tomorrow, held off on any watch Flash Flood
Watch extensions for now, though additional watches will be
possible tomorrow for some areas. Lingering storm chances will
continue into Friday across mainly eastern Clark, Mohave, and
Lincoln counties.

.LONG TERM...Saturday through early next week.

An increasing westerly flow aloft will develop over the weekend
as weak troughing develops over the PacNW before sagging into the
Great Basin. This will suppress our monsoon high to the south and
allow some drier air to work into the region. This will lead to a
decreasing trend in thunderstorm chances, with only very isolated
storm coverage over the weekend across Northwest Arizona, and
potentially dry conditions area-wide by early next week.
Meanwhile, temperatures will hover near seasonal normals for late
August.

&&

.AVIATION...For Harry Reid...In general, winds will favor diurnal
trends today. However, there will be substantial deviations from
this pattern today due to thunderstorm activity in and around the
Las Vegas Valley creating gusty, erratic winds from their direction.
Vicinity showers could start as early as 19Z, with highest chances
of storms directly impacting the terminal between 22 and 03Z. After
sunset, winds will fall back into their diurnal patterns, generally
below 8 kts. There is an indication that light showers persist
around the Las Vegas Valley through the entire overnight period, but
confidence at this time is not high enough to warrant including it
in the prevailing TAF. SCT-BKN down to 5 kft possible this afternoon
with stronger, overhead thunderstorms.

For the rest of southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and
southeastern California...Winds will tend to favor diurnal trends
today, though convection at and around TAF sites will result in
gusty, erratic winds from the direction of the storms. KBIH, KDAG,
and the Las Vegas Valley will see greatest chances this afternoon
from 19 to 00Z, with KIFP and KEED ramping up around sunset and
lasting through 05Z. There is an indication that light showers
persist in and around the Las Vegas Valley through the overnight
period, but confidence at this time is not high enough to warrant
including it in the prevailing TAF. SCT-BKN down to 5 kft possible
this afternoon with overhead thunderstorms.
&&

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report
any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating
procedures.
&&

DISCUSSION...Outler
AVIATION...Varian

For more forecast information...see us on our webpage:
https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter

The radar

The Las Vegas radar (KESX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:52 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 1:49 PM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 2.08 mi ESE of Mountain Pass to 2.27 mi N of Desert City
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.456, -115.517

Interstate 15 was closed due to flooding between Bailey Road and Nipton Road. The highway, onramps, and offramps were also flooded at Yates Well Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 3:20 PM PST to 3:30 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 3.34 mi NNE of Newberry to 1.1 mi N of Newberry
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.866, -116.662

A power pole was blown partway over, damaging two transformers.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 5:16 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 6.35 mi NW of Twenty Nine Palms to 6.27 mi NW of Twenty Nine Palms
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.203, -116.117

The intersection of Rodgers Lane and Meldora Ave was flooded.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 7:22 PM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 3.42 mi WNW of Rice to 3.41 mi WNW of Rice
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.098, -114.906

A vehicle was stuck on Highway 62 in flash flooding, eventually leading to the closure of the highway.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 8:25 PM PST to 10:30 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 13.33 mi W of Havasu Lake to 12.92 mi W of Havasu Lake
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.531, -114.651

Highway 95 was flooded.

Thunderstorm Wind, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 9:20 PM PST to 10:30 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 7.54 mi ESE of Danby
Measured
63 kt (72 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.589, -115.207

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 10:10 PM PST to August 25, 1:30 AM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 8.28 mi NW of Vidal Jct Arpt to 8.02 mi NNW of Vidal Jct Arpt
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
34.279, -114.652

Highway 95 was flooded, and at least one vehicle was stuck in the water.

Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 24, 10:15 PM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 12.37 mi ESE of Bush to 12.73 mi ESE of Bush
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Social Media
Coordinates
34.113, -115.488

Heavy rain which fell on the mountains south of Highway 62 approximately six to seven hours earlier drained down and flooded the highway near mile marker 69.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 25, 12:03 AM PST to 2:00 AM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 1.16 mi NNW of Vidal Jct Arpt to 2.17 mi NW of Vidal Jct Arpt
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
34.196, -114.578

Ten to 15 vehicles were stuck between two flooded areas on Highway 95 just north of Vidal Junction.

Flash Flood, Inyo

When
August 25, 4:53 PM PST to 7:23 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 2.95 mi WSW of Death Vly Jct to 5.54 mi WNW of Death Vly Jct
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.291, -116.472

Highway 190 was flooded in several areas west of Death Valley Junction. The water was about a foot deep and carried a significant amount of debris.

Flash Flood, Inyo

When
August 25, 7:20 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 4.59 mi S of Death Vly Jct to 8.1 mi S of Death Vly Jct
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.234, -116.414

Highway 127 was flooded.

Flash Flood, Inyo

When
August 25, 9:30 PM PST to 11:59 PM PST
Where
Inyo County, 1.4 mi NW of Death Vly to 2.26 mi NNW of Death Vly
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
36.462, -116.870

Highway 190 was flooded between Furnace Creek and Cow Creek.

Thunderstorm Wind, San Bernardino

When
August 26, 3:00 PM PST to 3:10 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 0.99 mi N of Needles to 0.87 mi WNW of Needles
Measured
43 kt (49 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
34.844, -114.599

Thunderstorm winds damaged a patio roof, blew down a street light, and damaged trees.

Flash Flood, San Bernardino

When
August 26, 5:30 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where
San Bernardino County, 6.26 mi N of Bannock to 5.8 mi N of Bannock
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.041, -114.826

Highway 95 was flooded.

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in California in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 2022

Sources

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: 1055249, 1055252, 1055253, 1055254, 1055256, 1055258, 1055259, 1055263, 1055265, 1055268, 1055271, 1055280, 1055281, 1055283.