Cooler and gusty today for Las Vegas area

By Dave Toplikar

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | 5:04 a.m.

Sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 70s and gusty winds are heading today to the Las Vegas area, according to the National Weather Service.

A wind advisory is in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today for the Lake Mead National Recreation area, Hoover Dam, Lake Havasu, Fort Mohave and the Colorado River Valley of San Bernardino County, the weather service said.

Winds will be from the north 20 to 30 mph, with gusts 40 to 50 mph, forecasters said. The strongest winds will affect the Laughlin, Bullhead City and the Davis Dam area, they said.

The winds will create dangerous boating conditions on the lakes and the Colorado River, forecasters said. The winds can result in high waves, which might tip or swamp smaller craft, they said. Boaters should avoid the open waters and stay close to shore or around protected areas, they said.

Driving conditions will be difficult on east-west roads, such as Interstate 40, especially for high profile vehicles, they said.

There is no advisory for the Las Vegas Valley, but winds will be from the north-northwest up to 15 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, forecasters said.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 62 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 57 degrees. The record low was 42 degrees, set in 1967 and 1937.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 61 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 64 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 60 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 64 degrees by 9 a.m., to 73 degrees by noon and reach a high of 78 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 81 degrees and the record high was 97 degrees, set in 1996.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 76 degrees by 6 p.m., to 70 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 65 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Wednesday's morning low will be 55 degrees and Wednesday's high will climb to 80 degrees, they said.