Temperatures climbing to upper 80s for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Thursday, March 31, 2011 | 5:50 a.m.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 80s are heading this afternoon to the Las Vegas Valley. And even warmer weather is expected Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

High pressure pushing in from the Pacific coast is bringing warm temperatures to Las Vegas, with temperatures approaching 90 degrees — about 15 degrees above normal — moving in Friday, the weather service said.

While winds will be light in Las Vegas, the weather service has issued a lake wind advisory from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today for the Colorado River Valley south of Hoover Dam, including Lakes Mohave and Havasu.

North winds will be 20 to 30 mph, with local gusts up to 40 mph, creating dangerous boating conditions especially for small craft in open waters, forecasters said.

For the weekend, a strong low pressure system will bring cooler weather and strong winds to the area by Sunday, the weather service said.

That storm will also bring a chance of rain and mountain snow to much of the region, 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 50 degrees. The record low was 25 degrees, set in 1938.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 65 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 57 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 62 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 67 degrees by 9 a.m., to 77 degrees by noon and reach a high of 87 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 73 degrees and the record high was 91 degrees, set in 1966.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 85 degrees by 6 p.m., to 77 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 69 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Friday's morning low will be 63 degrees and Friday's high will climb to 91 degrees, they said.