Motorists get worst of afternoon downpour

Heavy lightning and rain brought widespread fire, floods and mud to local roads and businesses Sunday evening.

The storm began shortly before 5 p.m., when lightning struck two buildings in Dayton and ignited small brush fires near Washoe Lake and in Six Mile Canyon.

The hit buildings - a business on Gold Creek Drive and a residence nearby - were not seriously damaged, and the brush fires were quickly doused by fire personnel.

At 5:03 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning and as if on cue, rain started pounding relentlessly throughout Carson City.

The sudden downpour dumped three quarters of an inch of water within 90 minutes, causing flooding in valley areas, a major leak at Smith's grocery store, and a minor mudslide in the Lakeview Estates area.

A man was hospitalized with moderate injuries when mud on the road caused his motorcycle to slide out of control.

Another car rolled over in a field behind a home on Westwind Way in Lyon County. No one was hurt in the rollover, said a Lyon County dispatcher.

The Smith's Grocery store on Highway 50 in Carson City evacuated approximately 100 shoppers when a leak broke out near its electrical source in the back of the store.

A Smith's manager said staff shut off all electrical power when the leak was discovered at around 6 p.m., and no one was hurt.

Just down the street from Smith's, at least four cars were damaged in heavy flooding in the Scolari's front parking lot when motorists drove through approximately three feet of water trying to enter and exit the shopping center.

"There weren't any signs," said Denise Cruse of Carson City, sitting in her broken-down Pontiac Grand Am after it was pushed out of the water by nearby drivers. "It was too late by the time I realized it was too deep."

She said she would leave her soggy car in the parking lot over night. Every time she started it, it made strange clicking sounds.

It was the same for Juan Carlos Limas, who misjudged the water's depth as he pulled in to pick up some dinner at Scolari's.

"I think I'll just walk home, now," he said, frowning at his stalled Nissan Sentra.

Race car driver Jay Bradley blew both front tires on his truck when he pulled off of the highway, missed the parking lot's entrance entirely and drove past a road closed sign through adjacent flooding.

A Carson City employee warned Bradley he may be liable for damages to the parking lot.

The rain let up shortly after 7 p.m.

The National Weather Service predicts a chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday afternoon through Tuesday evening, decreasing to slight chances Wednesday.

"Our flood watch expired," said National Weather Service meteorologist Wendell Hohmann at 8:30 p.m. "It should be quite a bit calmer and drier tomorrow."

Contact Robyn Moormeister at rmoormeister@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1215.