Las Vegas, NV (AP) - Thunderstorms were rumbling Monday west of the Las Vegas area, where a deluge prompted the closure of public facilities in rural Pahrump in what a county official called a bid to keep motorists off flooded roads.
About 1.7 inch of rain was measured in less than an hour at Nye County offices before county and town offices and courts closed, county spokesman Arnold Knightly said.
“People need to stay off the roads,” he said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Another storm dropped more than 1.25 inches of rain in mountains near Red Rock Canyon, prompting more flash flood warnings, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Planz said.
Summerlin received more than a half-inch, the Clark County Regional Flood Control District said.
The weather service issued a wide warning about swollen washes and arroyos was issued for an area also including Inyo and San Bernardino counties in California.
Across the region, utility and road crews worked to clear fallen trees and debris from crossroads that flooded during intense overnight monsoon rains packing lightning and damaging winds.
Officials in Clark and Nye counties reported no serious injuries resulting from Sunday night downpours that dumped more than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain in several minutes in some spots of North Las Vegas and Henderson, filling drainage channels with walls of water.
NV Energ, reported more than 14,000 customers without power shortly after storms swept through Las Vegas, but said only about 22 were without electricity by noon.
In Nye County, some homes were damaged by fallen trees and Valley Electric Association crews worked to restore power to customers in Pahrump, Knightly said.
The weather service clocked wind gusts of more than 60 mph in several parts of southern Nevada, including Henderson Executive Airport and Indian Springs.
Firefighters in Henderson made about 10 swift water rescues of drivers whose vehicles stalled Sunday night in standing water at some intersections, city spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said.
Clark County fire crews made two rescues Sunday night, including a woman and children from a sedan stuck in about 4 feet of running water.
Planz said weather service technicians were headed Monday to Nelson Peak, about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, to check a report that the regional weather radar was directly struck by lightning during the Sunday night storm.
A seasonal monsoon weather pattern drawing warm moist air from the south into southern Nevada was expected to ease for several days, before beginning again at the end of the week, Planz said.