HENDERSON, NV (FOX5) -
Henderson residents dealt with a dose of heavy rain Tuesday afternoon, which lead to flooding problems in some areas.
"There was a thundercloud and it was pitch black, and I told [my wife] it was going to start dumping any time," said Henderson resident Paul Turner.
Heavy rain disrupted the afternoon commute for drivers, mostly through the Boulder Highway area. It happened so fast that some people missed it altogether.
"I guess the weather was pretty bad out here, huh?" said Leah Witsoe, who was driving home from work when she was forced to deal with flood waters near Boulder Highway and Wagonwheel.
"I didn't realize until I already turned and then I couldn't go anywhere," she said.
A few blocks away on Equestrian Drive, the water was knee deep and kept cleanup crews busy throughout the evening.
The Henderson area was hit hard, and it was evident in viewer submitted photos.
"In a matter of minutes, things change and you could be floating downstream in your car. You never know," Turner said.
Still, drivers like Turner took a chance driving through a pool of water. Police and flood control officials warn that driving through water is dangerous - especially if you can't tell how deep it is.
Yet some people take the rain and flooding in stride.
"Pin it! Pin it to win it!" said Ralph Reid, as he sat in the driver seat of an all-terrain vehicle.
Reid and his family spent the late afternoon hours looking for the biggest puddle.
"You got to be careful through it," he said. "If you're in a normal vehicle, you got to take your time and do your thing."
Other drivers like Witsoe, were a bit leery around the water.
"It's really scary because you don't know if the road is washed out underneath that water or not," she said.
Local authorities did not report any serious injuries as a result of flooding Tuesday afternoon. The Regional Flood Control District, however, urges drivers not to drive through water. Its long-time campaign slogan is: "Turn Around. Don't Drown."
Copyright 2012 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
Crews spent the evening cleaning up debris from Equestrian Drive in Henderson
Photo: Dane Beebe
