Sunny skies, upper 70s for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Thursday, March 10, 2011 | 5:17 a.m.

Break out the shorts and sunglasses. Mostly sunny skies, with temperatures hitting the upper 70s, are on the way to the Las Vegas Valley.

Temperatures, which reached a high of 71 degrees Wednesday, will warm another 5 degrees or so today, then level off Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service said the last time that afternoon temperatures at McCarran International Airport was 75 degrees or higher was Nov. 16, 2010.

Afternoon temperatures are expected to continue rising into the upper 70s through the next several days.

The weather service issued a wind advisory from 1 p.m. today to 4 a.m. Friday for the eastern Slopes of Inyo County in California. Winds are expected to be from the west at 40 to 50 mph, with gusts up to 65 mph, the weather service said. Winds can make driving difficult in those areas, forecasters said.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 50 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 46 degrees. The record low was 29 degrees, set in 1962.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 47 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 45 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 46 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 62 degrees by 9 a.m., to 72 degrees by noon and reach a high of 78 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 68 degrees and the record high was 89 degrees, set in 1972.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 72 degrees by 6 p.m., to 64 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 60 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Friday's morning low will be 54 degrees and Friday's high will climb to 78 degrees, they said.