Strong high pressure built in from the east, bringing a period of excessive heat. Seven people died in Las Vegas of heat-related causes during and immediately after the heat wave.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
Strong high pressure built in from the east, bringing a period of excessive heat. Seven people died in Las Vegas of heat-related causes during and immediately after the heat wave.
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 4, 7:05 AM PST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 805 AM PDT Sun Aug 4 2024 .SYNOPSIS...Dangerous heat will build through early next week as high pressure builds across the region. Meanwhile, monsoonal moisture will retreat into eastern Mohave County today and Monday before slowly creeping back west Tuesday onward. Temperatures may cool slightly by midweek but will remain well above normal. && .UPDATE...Warmer and drier start to the day, with temperatures running a few degrees higher than yesterday while surface dewpoints are 5-10 degrees lower. The drier airmass is also noted in our morning sounding, with PWAT now below 1". With less moisture around, expect a continued decrease in storm coverage, with convection limited Mohave County. Heat will be the main story the next few days as high pressure builds in, leading to Major and Extreme HeatRisk across the southeastern 2/3 of the CWA. Heat gets tempered slightly in the 2nd half of the week as moisture and rain chances try to spread west. && .SHORT TERM...through Tuesday. High pressure ridge over the Four Corners will intensify and expand through Tuesday, resulting in increasing heat across our region. High temperatures in Kingman yesterday tied a record for the date, and similar heat is expected again today. Meanwhile, points further west will see additional warming as well, with high to extreme heat risk expanding across the deserts. The excessive heat warning goes into effect today at 10 am and will continue through Tuesday evening with well above normal temperatures flirting with daily records expected. High heat risk builds into Lincoln County by Monday and Tuesday , and have went ahead and added them to the excessive heat warning for Monday and Tuesday as well. Meanwhile, monsoonal moisture has largely retreated into northwest Arizona. Isolated thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon and evening mainly across central and eastern parts of Mohave County, with locally gusty winds and brief heavy rain possible. Similar storm coverage is expected Monday before monsoonal moisture begins to creep back west Tuesday ahead of a disturbance moving into southern Arizona. This feature will likely enhance storm coverage across Northwest Arizona and perhaps our southernmost Mojave Desert zones as well. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through next weekend. By the 2nd half of the week, ensemble guidance shows an easterly wave moving along the AZ-Mexico border. The EPS continues to be weaker and farther south with this feature, though the GEFS has trended towards this solution as well. This trend in the GEFS is perhaps most apparent in the 24-hr PoPs, which reveal a significant reduction and retraction towards the southeast. Should the weaker/farther south track come to fruition, we can expect conditions Wednesday-Friday to be fairly similar to those on Monday- Tuesday, with perhaps slightly higher precip chances across our southern CWA and a subtle cooldown if there is notable cloud cover. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Light and variable wind early this morning under some passing high clouds above 20 kft. Light easterly wind develops late morning through early afternoon with some lower clouds developing over the higher terrain. After 21Z, the wind direction should shift more out of the south. Typical south- southwest direction overnight. Wind speeds will remain 10 kts or less through the period. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms across northwest Arizona this afternoon and evening. Winds will favor typical diurnal tendencies generally at 10 kts or less. Winds at KDAG will have a strong westerly component late this afternoon and evening with gusts up to 20 kts. Lower probability of occurrence is the arrival of stronger southeasterly outflow winds into lower Colorado River Valley after 06Z tonight. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && UPDATE...Woods SHORT TERM...Outler LONG TERM...Woods AVIATION...Pierce For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Excessive Heat Warning criteria were reached on three straight days.
Excessive Heat Warning criteria were reached on three straight days.
Excessive Heat Warning criteria were reached on three straight days. Seven people died in Las Vegas of heat-related causes during and immediately after the heat wave.
Excessive Heat Warning criteria were reached on three straight days.
Excessive Heat Warning criteria were reached on three straight days.
Excessive Heat Warning criteria were reached on two straight days.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-05 | 93 | Male | Unknown | Indirect |
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-06 | 63 | Female | Unknown | Indirect |
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-07 | 47 | Male | Unknown | Direct |
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-07 | 53 | Male | Unknown | Direct |
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-07 | 65 | Female | Unknown | Indirect |
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-09 | 73 | Female | Unknown | Indirect |
| Excessive Heat, Las Vegas Valley | 2024-08-10 | 79 | Male | Unknown | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nevada in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Nevada, August 2024
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: 1207863, 1207864, 1207865, 1207866, 1207867, 1207868.