Snow, hail, rain, dampen region as warmup nears

May came in like a lion as rain fell in Pahrump, lightning flashed and thunderstorms pelted parts of the Las Vegas Valley, and snow covered higher-elevation areas on Mount Charleston.

Thunder and lightning occurred in Pahrump, too, on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Readers took to the Facebook page of the Pahrump Valley Times to report where they were and what they were seeing as the Wednesday’s storm moved in.

“All the way south by the brothels,” Lisa Miller said of her location at the time. “Crazy wind, thunder, lightning, pouring rain and pea-sized hail.”

Melissa Sharrer said, “A pond and cars covered in hail on the south side.”

In Pahrump, Nye County Commission Chambers were damaged as the result of Wednesday’s rainstorm, prompting the relocation of new voting machine demonstration on Thursday, the county reported via social media.

Elsewhere, areas of Mount Charleston received 3 to 6 inches of snowfall Tuesday, the weather service said. Officials said another 1 to 2 inches could fall on Wednesday. The latest date in the year that snow fell on Mount Charleston was June 17, 1995, Reid Wolcott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said.

The weather service issued a winter weather advisory for the Spring Mountains and Sheep Range north of Las Vegas that remained in effect until 5 a.m. Thursday. Scattered snow showers were mentioned as potentially causing unexpected winter weather conditions through the area.

In Pahrump, between 0.17 inches and 0.30 inches of rain was recorded in the 24-hour period ending at noon Wednesday.

In the Las Vegas area, lightning was seen throughout the western valley, and flashes also were reported with storms over the central and south valley, the National Weather Service said.

“So it’s basically everywhere,” meteorologist Chelsea Kryston said.

Over the last 30 years, more than 5 inches of snow has accumulated on Mount Charleston just six times during the month of May, meteorologist Ashley Wolf said.

“We might get close to that,” Wolf said earlier Tuesday.

The mountain’s record for snow in May was 10 inches, which all fell on May 7, 1986, Kryston said.

The snowfall record for May 1 is 3 inches, measured in 1983, she said.

Warming up soon

Summer-like weather is expected soon as the region makes a quick transition from winter-type conditions.

The daily high in Pahrump is projected near 96 by Tuesday, May 8 with mostly sunny skies. At Death Valley, the high on May 9 is forecast at 110.

A ridge of high pressure over the region will lead to well above normal temperatures today and Saturday with readings about 10-15 degrees above normal, the weather service said.

High pressure will build into the region, allowing a warming and drying trend to commence, the weather service added in its statement.

— Compiled from reports by the Pahrump Valley Times staff and Las Vegas Review-Journal.