Strongest Windstorm in 5 Years Blasts Las Vegas, Topples Semis, Knocks Out Power to Thousands

Pam Wright
Published: March 31,2017
Las Vegas is reeling Friday, a day after an intense windstorm blew into the area, causing widespread power outages, toppling semi-trucks, ripping off roofs and injuring at least one person.
Winds exceeding 70 mph knocked utility poles down onto cars near the famed Las Vegas strip. One person was injured when a construction wall collapsed inside the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino, according to the Associated Press.
An estimated 44,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm, reports KSNV.
The winds were powerful, with a gust of 82 mph clocked at the Red Rock Conservation Area west of Las Vegas. In North Las Vegas, a gust of 70 mph was recorded. A gust of 60 mph was recorded at McCarran International Airport, where numerous flights were delayed.
According to the National Weather Service, Thursday's event was the strongest windstorm to hit the city in five years. The last time winds topped 60 mph was on March 6, 2012, notes weather.com meteorologist Jon Erdman.
In many areas outside the city, the wind kicked up sand, reducing visibility for drivers.
The wind is being blamed for two tractor-trailer crashes, including one that blocked U.S. Interstate 15 just south of Las Vegas. No one was injured in either incident. A third semi-truck rolled over on U.S. 95 in Nye County.
Large trees were toppled across the city, including one that fell onto the second story of a townhome in the Garden Park Complex, reports KSNV.
The windstorm in the Great Basin and Southwest Thursday was ahead of a powerful cold front and associated bullish upper-level jet stream plunge, says Erdman.
"The Great Basin is no stranger to windstorms, but this one was impressive," said Erdman.
Power poles were snapped in Winnemucca, Nevada, and weather instruments at the Nevada Test Site about 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas clocked a 92 mph wind gust, impressive for any location not in mountainous terrain, Erdman said.
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