Las Vegas residents turn out to see Tropical Storm Hilary
It was a stunning backdrop for a marriage proposal. As thick clouds draped the peaks around Red Rock Canyon in fog, Eddie Hernandez got down on bended knee and asked Janette Espejo to marry him.
A year ago, after they had started dating, this place — the parking lot beside Red Rock’s Scenic Drive — was where Espejo and Hernandez first shared a kiss.
Now, as the rainy weather associated with Hilary, a rare southwest U.S. tropical storm, moved over southern Nevada, Hernandez presented the ring. Espejo said yes and they both embraced.
“Perfect,” Hernandez said of the weather, which was the opposite of the blazing sun and scorching temperatures Las Vegans have been enduring in recent weeks.
Hernandez and Espejo were among many Las Vegans who were out on Sunday afternoon as Hilary churned up toward southern Nevada. They were out taking in the rare sight of a tropical storm hitting the southwest, the first one to do so since 1939.
“The scenery is — I didn’t even expect this,” Hernandez said of the impressive display of clouds. The rain, which had been on and off throughout the day, had stopped. “I was actually hoping it was sunny so I could do it when it’s nice.
“But yeah, this is better,” Hernandez said.
Scott Kluck, his son Logan Kluck, 19, and Devin Llanas, 19, were visiting from Wisconsin. They pulled up to the Red Rock Scenic Drive, saw it was closed, then got caught in a downpour.
“It’s crazy and unexpected here,”
Scott Kluck said.
Brian Lee, 66, of Las Vegas, who was riding his bike near Red Rock, echoed what others out and about in Las Vegas said on Sunday afternoon: that the storm seemed to be no big deal — so far. But that’s because the core of the storm was still moving north along the California coast.
“I though I was going to outrun it,” Lee said. “And then I thought it would be right on my tail, but so far just got a band of drizzle.”
On Mount Charleston on Sunday afternoon, fog hung over Kyle Canyon Road while wind and rain came down in bursts. Forecasters with the National Weather Service had warned that wind gusts could top 70 mph near the mountain, and that outdoor recreation was “strongly ill-advised.”
In fact, a gust of 73 mph was observed at Angel Peak, which is about 3 miles northeast of the town of Mount Charleston, said Clay Morgan, a meteorologist with the Las Vegas forecast office of the National Weather Service.
Still, there were people staying in rental cabins. They weren’t going outside or hiking — not that they could, because the gates to hiking trails like the Cathedral Rock Trailhead were closed.
Jeremy Sidell, 28, and Cierra Koch-azeke, 27, both of Las Vegas, were looking forward to their two nights in the cabin. They had booked the cabin several weeks ago and obviously didn’t know what the weather would be like Sunday night.
“Honestly, we’re kind of curious to see,” Koch-azeke said. “I think we’re certain we’re not going to be doing any like hiking while we’re here.”