Danger at Lake Mead triggers warning: “Take immediate action”

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service (NWS) are urging the public to prepare for “immediate action” at various lakes in the Las Vegas area, including Lake Mead, on Friday night as dangerous weather moves into the region.

Monsoon-like storms are expected again this weekend, following an extreme heat wave that has broken many records in the Las Vegas area, including a historic temperature record. As of Thursday, Harry Reid International Airport had experienced temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) for six days in a row. The extreme heat will continue Friday, but is expected to subside as more moisture returns to the region, according to the NWS office in Las Vegas.

However, the approaching storms bring several hazards, including sudden wind gusts, isolated flash flooding and lightning strikes. On Friday morning, the NWS office in Las Vegas issued a severe weather warning on X (formerly Twitter).

“Thunderstorms may produce dangerous runoff winds on local lakes today and tomorrow,” the office said said“Be prepared to leave the lake quickly, know where to find shelter, and have a way to get weather warnings! Strong winds can occur long before thunder or lightning.”

According to an infographic accompanying the post, the dangerous wind poses the greatest threat to Lake Mohave, Lake Mead and Lake Havasu.

“Strong winds can strike suddenly, long before any thunder or lightning,” the infographic says. “Be prepared to act immediately and know where to find shelter!”

In a follow-up post, the office said the outflow winds posed a risk for northwest Arizona and southern Nevada, with gusts over 45 mph (72 kph) expected between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time on Friday.

NWS meteorologist Ashley Nickerson said Newsweek The normal monsoon season runs from late June to September, meaning weather patterns bring more moisture. The moisture is causing a downward trend in temperatures, although temperatures will rise again to 43 to 44 degrees Celsius next week, Nickerson said.

As for the strong winds, Nickerson said that if boaters hear thunder, they should try to get to shore.

As of 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, several weather advisories are in effect for the Las Vegas area, including a heat warning, a red flag warning, a heat advisory, a fire advisory, a marine weather advisory and an air quality advisory.

“Some thunderstorms will develop this afternoon and evening across northwest Arizona and southernmost Nevada, with the potential for very strong wind gusts. A larger thunderstorm is expected over the weekend. Thunderstorms will be more isolated next week as drier air moves in from the west,” the weather forecast said.