Photos: Dust engulfs Las Vegas, creates travel dangers on Saturday

As Las Vegas gears up for dangerous heat next week, the area was shrouded by blowing dust on Saturday.

The gusty winds preceded a band of rain and thunderstorms that pressed into southern Nevada during the midday hours of Saturday.

Arriving flights were subject to a ground stop at McCarran International Airport, according to the FAA. Winds at the airport gusted to 31 mph. Visibility was reduced down to 3 miles.

At the nearby North Las Vegas Airport, winds gusted to 36 mph.

The National Weather Service office in Las Vegas received numerous reports of visibility being dropped to a quarter-mile or less as the dust swept through. Winds gusted to around 50 mph around other parts of the Las Vegas Valley.

It is not out of the question for an isolated thunderstorm to develop over the higher terrain west of Las Vegas and bring another incident of blowing dust to the city into the upcoming week. However, the main story will be the upcoming surge of dangerous and record-challenging heat.

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