LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — I-15 northbound is open again and the southbound lanes from Las Vegas to California are expected to open “momentarily, according to Nevada State Police who posted the information on social media.
The freeway was closed for more than 12 hours due to a powerful storm that brought traffic along the freeway to a standstill overnight and into the morning hours as drivers waited for the lanes to reopen.
The lanes were closed around 10 p.m. Tuesday when road conditions became dangerous due to strong winds and dust that swept through Nevada and eastern California causing visibility issues.
Despite expectations, the freeway would reopen Wednesday morning, Cal Trans reported visibility issues, ice, and snow in the Mountain Pass area (about 75 miles from Las Vegas) continued to be a problem and the lanes remained closed while CHP worked to clear trucks out of the area.
Airport delays/cancellations
The ground stop/delay at Harry Reid International Airport was lifted around 11 p.m. Tuesday. The airport flight information showed around 20 arriving and departing flights Wednesday were canceled and several others were delayed. You can check flights here.
Power outages
Power has been restored to all but around 400 customers in the Las Vegas valley, according to NVEnergy’s website. Seven power poles were knocked down in the area of Sahara Avenue and Atlantic Street. Several CCSD schools are impacted and will conduct distance learning Wednesday. The outage has also resulted in the DMV office on Sahara Avenue being closed.
Wind speeds
The National Weather Service released the top gusts of wind felt around the valley during the storm and the most powerful gusts were recorded at Allegiant Stadium and Mt. Springs summit which were clocked at 82 mph. Gusts at 72 mph were recorded at Red Rock Canyon and 71 mph at Mt. Potosi. Nellis AFB experiences gusts of 61 mph and they were 59 mph in Blue Diamond.
