An air mattress joy ride as Vegas has second-wettest day on record
It was the second-wettest day on record Wednesday in the Las Vegas area. So, naturally, there were some who wanted to ride an air mattress down a flood channel.
Yes, said the National Weather Service’s Andrew Gorelow, “there were three kids who decided to jump on an air mattress and ride it.”
That got the attention of a police helicopter, the Las Vegas-based meteorologist told the Los Angeles Times in an interview Thursday morning.
All three were shirtless, according to an Associated Press report, and waving to a TV camera crew as they rode the mattress down a flood canal in Henderson, Nev.
The police helicopter reportedly caught up with them and ordered them out of the fast-moving water, which can be dangerous.
Gorelow said rescue crews made multiple swift-water rescues on Wednesday, which was an unusually rainy day for the region. It was the second-wettest calendar day on record and the third-wettest when measured by 24-hour period. Records were first kept in 1937.
“For Aug. 21, we had 1.65 inches of rain, the second-wettest day on record,” he said. “The record was 2.58 inches in 1958.”
The meteorologist said the flooding in the Vegas area was “significant -- our washes were running full yesterday,” and some streets flooded.
Thursday dawned bright and sunny, however, he said. Forecasters said there will be no more rain or flooding for the day as drier air moves in.
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