PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

 
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 AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-242330-
 
 PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
 1025 AM PST MON NOV 2 2009
 
 ...OCTOBER 2009...A DRY MONTH FOR SOME...A WET ONE FOR OTHERS...
 
 OCTOBER 2009 FEATURED A VERY STARK CONTRAST IN PRECIPITATION ACROSS 
 THE MOJAVE DESERT AND SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN. ACROSS WESTERN INYO 
 COUNTY THE MONTH RANKS AS ONE OF THE WETTEST ON RECORD...WHILE IN 
 THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE MOJAVE DESERT THE MONTH TIED FOR THE DRIEST 
 ON RECORD.
 
 ...LAS VEGAS...
 
 IN LAS VEGAS ONLY A TRACE OF PRECIPITATION FELL FOR THE MONTH AT 
 MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...THE OFFICIAL CLIMATE STATION FOR 
 LAS VEGAS. THE LAST TIME THIS OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 
 WAS BACK IN 1999. ELEVEN OTHER OCTOBERS HAVE ALSO HAD JUST A TRACE 
 OF PRECIPITATION FALL. OF NOTE IS THE ONLY OCTOBERS TO SEE JUST A 
 TRACE OF PRECIPITATION FALL WHEN THE SEASON WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN EL 
 NINO WAS OCTOBER OF 1968 AND OCTOBER OF 1994 (BOTH 1968-1969 AND 
 1994-1995 ARE CONSIDERED AN EL NINO SEASON). 
 
 THE TRACE OF PRECIPITATION THAT DID FALL AT MCCARRAN ON THE 20TH WAS 
 THE ONLY INSTANCE OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH HERE. TRACE AMOUNTS 
 FOR THE MONTH WERE ALSO RECORDED ON THE 20TH AT BOTH THE NORTH LAS 
 VEGAS AIRPORT AND AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. THIS WAS 
 THE ONLY RAIN TO FALL ALL MONTH IN THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY AND THUS 
 THERE WAS BARELY ANY NOTEWORTHY VARIATION IN RAINFALL TOTALS IN THE 
 VALLEY FOR THE MONTH. THESE TRACE AMOUNTS OF RAIN WERE ASSOCIATED 
 WITH A LINE OF SHOWERS CAUSED BY A SYSTEM THAT CROSSED THE AREA ON 
 THE 20TH. A FEW HEAVIER SHOWERS DEVELOPED JUST TO THE NORTHEAST OF 
 LAS VEGAS IN ADVANCE OF THE MAIN LINE OF LIGHT SHOWERS THAT CROSSED 
 CLARK COUNTY AND DEPOSITED 0.19 INCH AT VALLEY OF FIRE STATE 
 PARK...THE ONLY RAIN TO FALL THERE ALL MONTH.
 
 THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH AT MCCARRAN WAS 67.0 DEGREES 
 WHICH WAS 1.7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE LAST 90 DEGREE OR BETTER 
 HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE YEAR WAS 93 DEGREES AND THIS TOOK PLACE ON 
 THE 18TH. THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH CREEPED IN JUST BEFORE 
 HALLOWEEN WHEN A READING OF 44 DEGREES WAS REACHED FOR A LOW ON THE 
 30TH.  
 
 A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PRODUCED STRONG 
 WINDS ON THE 3RD INTO THE MORNING OF THE 4TH THAT DOWNED A NUMBER OF 
 TREES THROUGHOUT THE VALLEY FROM THE MOUNTAINS EDGE AREA TO AS FAR 
 NORTH AS THE WESTERN ALIANTE AREA. WHILE THE WINDS WERE ESTIMATED AT 
 60 TO 65 MPH IN THE MOUNTAINS EDGE AREA...THE HIGHEST WIND REPORTED 
 WAS A GUST OF 77 MPH AT RED ROCK CANYON. DURING THIS EVENT THE SEA 
 LEVEL PRESSURE AT MCCARRAN DROPPED TO 29.33 INCHES ON THE 4TH AND 
 THIS SET A NEW RECORD LOW SEA LEVEL PRESSURE FOR LAS VEGAS FOR THE 
 MONTH OF OCTOBER. THE OLD RECORD WAS 29.35 INCHES SET ON OCTOBER 14 
 1994. 
 
 A PLUME OF BLOWING DUST ORIGINATING FROM A DRY LAKE BED NEAR JEAN 
 BLEW INTO THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY ON THE 
 AFTERNOON OF THE 19TH. VISIBILITY DROPPED TO AT LEAST 3 MILES IN 
 SOUTHEAST HENDERSON.
 
 THE HIGHEST WINDS ALL MONTH AT MCCARRAN OCCURRED ON THE 27TH WHEN 
 THE FINAL COLD FRONT OF THE MONTH CROSSED SOUTHERN 
 NEVADA...PRODUCING A 52 MPH WIND GUST. BLOWING DUST WAS COMMON IN 
 PARTS OF THE VALLEY IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS SYSTEM.
 
 ...ELSEWHERE...
 
 AS MENTIONED ABOVE PRECIPITATION TOTALS ACROSS THE AREA VARIED 
 GREATLY DURING OCTOBER 2009. A VERY MOIST PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM 
 CROSSED THE NORTHERN HALF OF CALIFORNIA ON THE 13TH INTO THE 14TH 
 PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF INYO COUNTY. A 
 TOTAL OF 1.77 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT BISHOP IN UNDER 24 
 HOURS...SETTING A NEW RECORD FOR OCTOBER. IN ADDITION THIS MADE 
 OCTOBER 2009 THE SECOND WETTEST OCTOBER EVER HERE ON RECORD SINCE 
 1943. THIS SAME SYSTEM BROUGHT THE FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON TO THE 
 SIERRA NEVADA ABOVE 9000 FEET WITH 2 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW ESTIMATED 
 AROUND 10000 FEET. ADDITIONALLY...MOST OF THE RAIN TO FALL THIS 
 MONTH IN ESMERALDA COUNTY FELL FROM THIS SYSTEM...WITH DYER SEEING 
 0.47 INCHES OF RAIN FALL...WHICH IS 0.08 INCH ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE 
 MONTH.
 
 OTHERWISE WHERE PRECIPITATION DID FALL IN OCTOBER...IT WAS LIGHT AND 
 MAINLY FELL FROM ONE OR A COMBINATION OF SYSTEMS THAT CROSSED THE 
 AREA DURING THE MONTH AND WAS CONFINED TO AREAS MAINLY NORTH OF I-15 
 OR IN THE NORTHERN THIRD OF MOHAVE COUNTY. MOST AREAS THAT DID SEE 
 PRECIPITATION SAW LESS THAN A QUARTER OF AN INCH FOR THE MONTH. THE 
 FIRST SNOWFLAKES OF THE SEASON TO FALL AT THE 7500-8500 FOOT LEVEL 
 ON MOUNT CHARLESTON FELL ON THE 20TH.
 
 IN THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE MOJAVE DESERT IT WAS A DRY MONTH WITH NO 
 PRECIPITATION REPORTED AT ALL. IN NEEDLES NO RAIN FELL AT 
 ALL...TYING A RECORD FOR THE DRIEST OCTOBER ON RECORD LAST SET A 
 YEAR AGO. A TOTAL OF 13 OCTOBERS...COUNTING THIS YEAR...HAVE NOT 
 SEEN ANY PRECIPITATION IN NEEDLES SINCE 1948. NO PRECIPITATION ALSO 
 FELL AT THE BARSTOW-DAGGETT AIRPORT THIS OCTOBER WHICH ALSO TIED A 
 MONTHLY RECORD FOR THE DRIEST OCTOBER EVER LAST SET IN 2007. A TOTAL 
 OF 17 OCTOBERS HAVE NOT SEEN ANY PRECIPITATION FALL AT 
 BARSTOW-DAGGETT SINCE RECORDS STARTED IN 1943.
 
 OCTOBER USUALLY FEATURES THE LAST SIGNIFICANT WARMTH OF THE YEAR AND 
 THE FIRST CHILL OF THE SEASON AND THIS YEAR WAS NO EXCEPTION. THE 
 HOTTEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH IN THE AREA WAS 102 DEGREES AT 
 FURNACE CREEK IN DEATH VALLEY ON THE 17TH. DEATH VALLEY ALSO SAW A 
 HIGH OF 101 ON THE 16TH AND LAKE HAVASU CITY LOGGED A HIGH OF 100 
 THAT SAME DAY. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH IN THE AREA AT 
 AN OFFICIAL CLIMATE STATION WAS 9 DEGREES AT SPRING VALLEY STATE 
 PARK ON THE MORNINGS OF THE 5TH...6TH AND 26TH.
 
 

 
 STACHELSKI
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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US Dept of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Las Vegas Weather Forecast Office
7851 S Dean Martin Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89139-6628

Tel: (702) 263-9744