- A rare thunderstorm hit Las Vegas on Thursday night, triggering flash flood warnings.
- Cars were seen powering through flooding near The Strat Hotel in downtown Vegas.
- Las Vegas is one of the US's driest cities and typically only gets 4 inches of rain a year.
A rare thunderstorm hit downtown Las Vegas on Thursday night, triggering flash flood warnings.
Shocking videos circulated on social media, showing water pouring through the roofs of a casino and cars struggling through floodwaters near a downtown landmark.
A video posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be cars traversing flooded roads near the Strat Hotel in downtown Las Vegas with difficulty:
Breaking: Flash flooding is occurring in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. pic.twitter.com/k8aTmgaoGh
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) July 29, 2022
David Charns, a reporter at Las Vegas news outlet 8News Now, posted a clip on Twitter that showed streams of water flowing through a screen at the Circa Resort and Casino:
Rain pours through a screen inside Circa in Las Vegas.
(h/t @LasVegasLocally)
pic.twitter.com/Ru21kOwck9— David Charns (@davidcharns) July 29, 2022
Another Vegas-based Twitter page uploaded a video of what appeared to be a blacked-out light show canopy, that may have gone out because of the storm:
Lightning just blew out the Fremont Street Experience light show canopy and exterior lights at several downtown casinos. pic.twitter.com/mVO9K5caVM
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) July 29, 2022
The storm also prompted the City of Las Vegas to issue a flash flood warning. As many as 7,300 people had their power knocked out because of the storm, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
A Flash Flood Warning and Sevwre Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for the Las Vegas Valley ⚠️@NWSVegas advises to watch out for:
- heaving downpours 🌧
- lightning ⚡️
- strong wind gusts 💨 #VegasWeather pic.twitter.com/1E8JuJlfXV— City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) July 29, 2022
The Clark County regional flood control district's account also posted a warning on Thursday night.
"Water depths in Las Vegas Wash and Flamingo Wash near Nellis continue to rise," it wrote on Twitter. "Stay away from flood channels and let them do their jobs tonight. #befloodsafe #wateralwayswins."
A man in Vegas on vacation said he filmed this video of water streaming through the Linq Hotel's parking garage:
@News3LV this is the Linq parking garage on the Strip. pic.twitter.com/lWfKULEAom
— Coach Ken Camp (@CoachKenCamp) July 29, 2022
Thursday was the second straight night of storms in Sin City, and the forecast is showing even more rain is likely on Friday, too.
Another night of impressive storms moving through the valley! Keep the footage coming! #VegasWeather https://t.co/2IsIHlUnRO
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) July 29, 2022
Las Vegas is known to be one of the driest major cities in the US and has an arid climate all year round.
The city typically gets 4 inches of rain per year, but the National Weather Service Las Vegas said some areas of the city saw over 1 inch of rain on Thursday.