Travelers head to Las Vegas all year long for stays in lavish hotels filled with wild entertainment, gambling, and nights they’d probably prefer to forget.
Twitter via Las Vegas Locally
But hundreds of visitors were treated to a truly unique entertainment experience this week when mass flooding hit the Las Vegas Strip, sending cars floating and wreaking havoc when heavy rain poured into the valley on Thursday.
Journalist Chaudhary Parvez posted a video to Twitter of severe flooding taking over a Las Vegas parking garage, with water swiftly moving across the ground and taking objects like a water cooler flying with it.
New flood footage in Las Vegas! Las Vegas Strip flooded today, August 11, 2022
#LasVegas #USA pic.twitter.com/BCpz1wjUHf— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) August 12, 2022
Another clip showed the Planet Hollywood Hotel getting demolished by rainwater inside the casino.
If you’re going to Planet Hollywood tonight bring an umbrella pic.twitter.com/2S24ldvhiu
— Las Vegas Locally (@LasVegasLocally) August 12, 2022
More videos showed cars losing bumpers and swimming through water on the streets, tires unable to touch the road, and the insides of hotels and casinos getting soaked.
Pouring in Vegas and guys’ bumpers falling off lol. TW pic.twitter.com/dRVn5C1oNd
— 808GRINDΞR ᶦᵏᶻ (@808Grinder) August 12, 2022
@sincityclassicd #vegas #rain #planethollywood #lasvegas #mindfreak ♬ Viva Las Vegas – Ringtone Track Masters
A flash flood warning is still in effect for Vegas and the surrounding area through Monday, according to the National Weather Service, which noted that these weather patterns may continue.
“The active monsoon across the West is expected to continue this weekend with a trajectory from the Four Corners region and Desert Southwest to the central Rockies,” the NWS stated. “This rainfall may produce flash flooding and debris flows, especially near recent burn scar areas. Meanwhile, locally heavy rain is likely near the Gulf Coast this weekend from the arrival of a cold front and weak tropical disturbance.”
Las Vegas annually receives around 4.2 inches of rain per year, usually spread out around 26 or 27 days. The wettest month tends to be February. So far, summer rainfall in Las Vegas has totaled 1.28 inches, making it the wettest monsoon season since 2012, the NWS said.
Vegas has had no shortage of flooding this summer.
Just two weeks ago, mass flash floods hit the strip, destroying the insides of major casinos and hotels.
The weather appears to be clear going into this weekend, although as visitors and residents alike have learned, the skies could open up at any moment.