Record Rain in Vegas, Hints of Autumn/Winter and Nadine Lives

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

Thanks to Nicholas Pappagallo Jr. for the the picture below from Chandler, AZ. Monsoon thunderstorms created this wild lightning over the Mercy Hospital.

Record Rains in Las Vegas, NV

Look closely at the picture below from @brandytiaraxx. Do you recognize the hotel? That’s the Mirage on Las Vegas Blvd.! A daily record rainfall of 1.18″ was set at Las Vegas Mccarran Airport (Old Record: 0.61″ in 1998). This was also only 0.02″ shy of becoming the 10th wettest day ever in recorded history! August 22nd was the 2nd wettest day ever in Las Vegas’ history with 1.65″

Las Vegas 2012 Precipitation Stats

** In the 2 days mentioned above (totaling: 2.83″), Las Vegas picked up nearly 68% of their average annual precipitation of 4.19″!

**Precipitation in August & September (so far) has totaled 3.46″ (nearly 83% of the average annual precipitation of 4.19″!

**Since January 1st Las Vegas has seen 3.88″ of precipitation, normal is 2.92″ (0.96″ above average)

Flash Flood Potential

The National Weather Service continues Flash Flood Watches for areas shaded in green below. Slow moving monsoon thunderstorms could bring heavy rain/flooding to areas closer to the Colorado Rockies.

Rainfall Forecast

Nice to see NOAA’s HPC rainfall forecast giving a little love to the Front Range of the Rockies through AM Thursday! The forecast suggests over 1″ of rain in spots, good news for folks there as Denver, CO is now nearly 6.25″ behind normal precipitation since January 1st.

Say It Ain’t Snow

The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY for the high elevations of the Colorado Rockies.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM MDT THURSDAY.

* LOCATION…PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FEET AND THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET.

* CAUSE AND TIMING…A STORM SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS COLORADO WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SNOW TO THE REGION. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL ABOVE 12000 FEET.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION…TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WITH LOCAL 10 INCH AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE AT THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS.

* WIND…NORTHEAST TO EAST AT 5 TO 15 MPH WITH LOCALIZED WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH AT TIMES.

* IMPACT…HIKERS…CIMBERS…AND OTHER VISITORS TO THE HIGH COUNTRY SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR WINTER CONDITIONS ABOVE TREE LINE.

Summer-like in September

Take a look at high temperatures yesterday. Note the mid 90s as far north as Minnesota. Record high temperatures fell in St. Cloud, MN at 96°; Sioux Falls, SD at 96°; Sioux City, IA at 98°

24 Hour Temp Change

Temperatures behind the front are nearly 20° to 30° cooler today than yesterday across the High Plains/Upper Mississippi Valley… That’s some front, huh?!?

Forecast Highs Today

The forecast highs today will struggle to get into the 70s across the High Plains today and in some cases we’ll be stuck in the low 60s across the far north.

Hello Winter

A fresh blanket of snow covered Pike’s Peak in Colorado this morning.  The top of the peak sits just above 14,000 feet and snow in September is pretty normal there. Are you ready for snowflakes?  Check out the responses on the WeatherNation Facebook wall. 

Chilly Nights

Overnight lows again tonight will be chilly enough to prompt some frost and freeze potential across the northwestern reaches of the nation.

Tropical Update

The National Hurricane Center is now issuing public advisories for Nadine in the Atlantic Basin.

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK

AT 1100 AM AST…1500 UTC…THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM NADINE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 19.1 NORTH…LONGITUDE 47.6 WEST. NADINE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH…24 KM/H. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AT A SIMILAR FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY…FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST THURSDAY NIGHT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 60 MPH…95 KM/H… WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS…AND NADINE IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A HURRICANE TONIGHT OR ON THURSDAY. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES…185 KM FROM THE CENTER. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 997 MB…29.44 INCHES.

Nadine is a Fish Storm

The good news for folks in Hurricane Alley, Nadine appears to be a “Fish Storm” as she looks to take a sharp turn to the right over the coming days, missing all landmasses!

Thanks for checking in on this Wednesday, have a great rest of your week!

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