Debris Flow — Mineral, Nevada

2023-09-03 · near Hawthorne, Mineral, Nevada

Event narrative

Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) reported a second flash flooding event 8.0 mi S of Hawthorne, NV when strong thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall caused debris flows and flooding across Nevada State Route 359. A partial collapse occurred on the southbound lane of Nevada State Route 359 that closed the road at 4:11 PM PST, Sunday, September 3, 2023.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low over northern California yielded a cooler, wetter, and breezy pattern across the region through Labor Day weekend. Periods of light to moderate precipitation intermingled with isolated thunderstorms produced brief periods of heavy rainfall across the Sierra into northwest Nevada that caused some flash flooding and flooding concerns through the Labor weekend. Of particular concern was flooding in the playa area of the Black Rock Desert during the Burning Man festival. A few isolated severe thunderstorms occurred across parts of the Basin and Range east of US-95 in Pershing, Churchill, and Mineral counties as well.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.4142, -118.6200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1143089. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.