Water & Environment · Valley-wide
Las Vegas Ties for Second-Wettest October on Record With 1.31 Inches of Rain, Weather Service Says
Halloween weekend storms brought hail, flash flooding and water rescues and pushed Las Vegas to 1.31 inches of October rain. That ties the month for second-wettest October on record, behind 2005.
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What happened
Las Vegas finished October with 1.31 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the total ties the month for second place on the list of wettest Octobers. The record remains 1.45 inches, set in 2005.
Storms over the Halloween weekend added the final amounts. Most of the month's rain, however, came from a single storm earlier in October.
Why October was so wet
NWS meteorologist Chris Outler told the Review-Journal that the wet month was largely due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel. That system dropped about 1.08 inches of rain on parts of the valley on Oct. 11, according to the newspaper.
The Review-Journal described Rachel's remnants as producing record-setting rainfall. The Halloween weekend storms that closed out the month arrived less than three weeks later.
Friday storms bring hail and flooding
Rain and hail hit parts of the valley on Friday and caused flash flooding and water rescues, the Review-Journal reported. Our earlier coverage looked at flash flooding and water rescues in Henderson and the flash flood warning, outages and closures that came with the storm.
Rainfall by area
County rain gauge data showed parts of eastern Henderson picked up between one and more than 1.5 inches of rain on Friday, according to the Review-Journal. Downtown Las Vegas had recorded more than an inch by Friday afternoon.
Hail reports
The weather service reported hail the size of ping-pong balls east of downtown. The Review-Journal said hail also fell outside its own campus on Bonanza Road east of Martin Luther King Boulevard, and in Henderson.
Rain returns for Halloween
More heavy rain fell on parts of the valley on Saturday, just as Halloween night began. The Review-Journal described it as rain dumped by the bucket on parts of the area.
Flood advisory in the southeast valley
During the weekend storms, the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for the southeast Las Vegas Valley after 0.50 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes just after noon, the Review-Journal reported.
A rare Halloween soaking
The weather service's Las Vegas office had noted that Southern Nevada could see its first measurable Halloween rain since 1987, when the valley got a quarter of an inch, according to the Review-Journal. We covered that possibility in our earlier report on the chance of Halloween rain ending a dry streak dating to 1987.
Other weather activity this fall
The Review-Journal's coverage also listed other recent weather in the region. Scattered thunderstorms moved through the valley on a Thursday, and strong storms hit Henderson and parts of the south valley the day after Rachel's remnants soaked Las Vegas.
The newspaper also reported that a rare storm brought golf ball-sized hail and damaging wind gusts to northern and central Arizona. Separately, it reported that a Clark County woman sued NV Energy, saying utility poles trapped her in her car for several hours.
What to watch next
- Whether the weather service confirms Saturday's rain as the first measurable Halloween rainfall in Las Vegas since 1987.
- The October record of 1.45 inches, set in 2005, still stands. Rain this month ended tied for second at 1.31 inches.
- The lawsuit a Clark County woman filed against NV Energy, saying utility poles trapped her in her car for several hours.
