Rain is currently battering the desert in America putting an end to the iconic Burning Man Festival in Nevada. Tens of thousands of festival-goers have been urged to conserve their supplies of food, water, and fuel due to challenging conditions caused by heavy rainfall. The Black Rock Desert, where the festival is taking place, has been transformed into a muddy quagmire, with some attendees forced to hike long distances to reach main roads. Others are using makeshift measures like wrapping their shoes in trash bags to avoid getting stuck, while a few brave souls have resorted to going barefoot.
The adverse weather conditions prompted festival organizers to suspend vehicular movement in and out of the festival site. The gate and airport leading to Black Rock City, situated in northwest Nevada, have been closed to all but emergency vehicles. An official statement on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter warned against attempting to travel to Black Rock City, emphasizing the closure for the duration of the event. It remains uncertain how many of the festival’s over 70,000 attendees have been affected by the inclement weather.
Further rain is expected over the rest of the weekend according to festival organizers and the National Weather Service. Showers and thunderstorms are predicted to persist through Sunday (South African Monday), with temperatures at a chilly overnight low of 9 degrees celcius.
Rainfall data from the National Weather Service indicates that approximately 2cm of rain fell in the area from Friday morning to Saturday morning, an unusually high amount for this time of year in the typically arid Nevada desert. Even modest amounts of precipitation can lead to flooding in this dry region. Flood watches have been issued for northeast Nevada, east of Black Rock City, where some storms have already produced up to a 6cm of rain, with the potential for up to 8cm over the weekend.
Given the road closures and adverse conditions, the Bureau of Land Management, which has jurisdiction over the festival’s location, has advised those planning to attend Burning Man to reconsider and stay home for their safety.
