Contractors supplied cranes to clear logjams and debris in the Truckee River. Volunteers and National Guardsmen stacked walls of sandbags on the riverbank and in store entrances. However, the Reno business community remembered the damaging flood from just five years before (Thanksgiving 1950) and swung into action, swearing that this time it would be different. “On December 21, 1955, after the first five days of wet weather, Weather Bureau officials were keeping a close eye on the rising Truckee River, but they stated there was still no cause for alarm. The following description is from “ Beware Floods in the Driest State” from Mic Mac Media and “ Christmas Flood of 1955: "Storm of Century," Mark McLaughlin Weather Bureau after December 22, which allowed advanced preparations and close coordination between agencies which engaged in fighting the flood’s impacts. $4.4 million in 1950, actual dollars), because flood mitigation and preparation measures had been put in place in the region during the intervening 5 years. In terms of area flooded, the December 1955 flood ranks as the record for the region (since 1950), with nearly 100,000 acres flooded.ĭamage was not quite as severe as that experienced in the November 1950 flood ($4.0 million in 1955 vs. In terms of river flow, December 1955 is the record flood on the Truckee River at Reno (20,800 cfs), and second largest (after January 1997) on the East Fork Carson (17,600 cfs at Gardnerville) and upper portion of the mainstem Carson River (30,000 cfs at Carson City). As the snow level rose to over 9,000 feet during the storm, there was an accompanying 15 inches of snowmelt. The bulk of the rainfall fell from December 21 to 23. From December 16 to 24, 1955, precipitation at the headwaters of the principal river basins ranged from 10 to over 20 inches. That was the same night that downtown Las Vegas streets were flooded.Īnd don’t forget the current month of nearly daily storm activity began on July 14 with a widespread dousing of the valley from Primm to Boulder City and the first rain at Harry Reid International Airport since March.Ĭontact Marvin Clemons at Follow on Twitter.Like most major floods affecting the region, this event resulted from extremely heavy rain combined with unseasonably warm temperatures (a “pineapple connection”) which caused a substantial melt of a large Sierra Nevada snowpack. 11, and nearly fatal to a woman who was rescued after being caught in floodwaters for nearly two miles in the Lower Las Vegas Wash on July 28. Thursday proved deadly to two men who drowned in tunnels near Mandalay Bay on Aug. 35 of an inch.Įarlier Thursday, it rained. The mountain north of Boulder City received. Two gauges on the bench east of Henderson showed. 55 of an inch of rain fell south of Mission Hills Park while. 08 of an inch recorded in the Enterprise area.Įarlier in the day, the Henderson area saw some storms, leading to a flash flood warning. The storms then moved east into the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.Īlso, moderate showers hit the southwest and west side of the valley earlier in the evening. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Southern Nevada’s month-long monsoon season, Thursday has been a volatile night several times.Ī round of storms clipped the northern part of the Las Vegas Valley late Thursday night, triggering a severe thunderstorm warning. Light clouds linger over the northwest valley as seen from Summerlin on Thursday, Aug.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |