...
By Joe Edwards
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS) have issued a weather alert for Lake Mead and the surrounding areas, warning of dense fog that could reduce visibility and lead to potentially dangerous driving conditions.
The NWS forecast office in Las Vegas warned of visibility one quarter mile or less in the dense fog, cautioning that low visibility may "make driving conditions hazardous."
The agency advises drivers to slow down, use their headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of them.
Read More on News
The alert applies to the following areas:
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave
- Western Mojave Desert
- Eastern Mojave Desert
- San Bernardino County-Upper Colorado River Valley
- Western Clark and Southern Nye County
- Las Vegas Valley
- Southern Clark County
Cities included in the alert are Mountain Pass, Desert Rock, Amargosa Valley, Baker, Mitchell Caverns, Cal-Nev-Ari, Barstow, Bullhead City, Pahrump, Topock, Lake Havasu City, North Las Vegas, Needles, Indian Springs, Fort Irwin, Primm, Laughlin, Daggett, Boulder City, Searchlight, Desert Hills, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mohave Valley, Hoover Dam, and Oatman.
The NWS explains on its website that these advisories are issued "when widespread dense fog develops.
"When this happens, visibilities frequently drop to one-quarter of a mile or less," it says. These conditions make travel difficult."
"Heads up! A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect through 6 AM PST/7AM MST Friday," the NWS forecast office in Las Vegas said in a post on X. "Reduced visibility will create hazardous driving conditions. Slow down and leave extra distance ahead of you."
...
"Fog is much more unusual in the Lake Mead area than in other parts of the country due to dry conditions that are usually in place. What was different than usual this morning was recent rain resulted in saturated soils which increased the amount of moisture in the air near the ground," AccuWeather meteorologist Kai Kerkow told Newsweek.
"This combined with clear skies and calm winds allowed temperatures to drop considerably, creating favorable conditions for the development for fog. While localized areas of fog cannot completely be ruled out over the next couple of mornings, an increase in cloud cover and soils drying out will work against the potential for morning fog development after today."
Newsweek reported on Monday that Lake Mead and the surrounding areas were issued an alert from the NWS due to strong winds that posed a potential threat for boaters.
In a wind advisory issued for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave, and San Bernardino County-Upper Colorado River Valley, the NWS cautioned that north winds 15 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts up to 45 miles per hour were expected.
"Hazardous boating conditions are expected today through Monday," the agency said on Sunday. "Waves of 1 to 3 feet on Lake Mead and Lake Havasu and 2 to 4 feet on Lake Mohave will result in dangerous lake conditions for boaters," it added.
"It does look like calmer conditions will resume Tuesday onward, and it appears that winds will remain fairly light through the remainder of the week," Chris Outler, NWS Las Vegas lead forecaster told Newsweek at the time.
Update, 01/02/2025, 12:42 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Kai Kerkow.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines