Record heat sears Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 | 12:29 p.m.

The Las Vegas Valley is continuing to sizzle under an excessive heat warning, as temperatures, which tied a record Tuesday, are expected to soar again to 114 degrees this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s absolutely too warm for people to be outside for too much time,” said Chris Stumpf, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas office.

The weather service’s excessive heat warning, which runs until 10 p.m. for much of the Mojave Desert and Southern Great Basin, is projecting temperatures to be 116 degrees at Lake Mead, 115 to 120 degrees along the Colorado River, 111 to 116 in Barstow, Mesquite and Overton and around 125 degrees in Death Valley. Temperatures are expected to drop overnight into the upper 80s or low 90s.

The warning advises those who work or spend time outdoors to schedule their strenuous activities for early morning or evening. The warning also advises those who go outside to wear light-weight and loose-fitting clothing and to drink plenty of water.

The cool spot in the region will be Mount Charleston, which will climb to about 86 degrees today, Stumpf said.

“If you want a break from the heat, head up that way,” he said.

On Tuesday, Las Vegas tied a high temperature record, hitting 114 degrees at 4:47 p.m. at McCarran International Airport. The last time it was that hot on a July 10 was in 2003. The normal high for that date is 104 degrees .

“It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to get to the record today,” Stumpf said. Today’s record is 116 degrees set in 1959.

Today looks like the last day of high heat, Stumpf said.

More moisture is moving in from Arizona and southern California, cooling off temperatures Thursday and bringing in a chance of thunderstorms Friday and Saturday, he said.

Thursday’s high will be 109 degrees, then temperatures drop to about 101 Friday and 102 Saturday.

“Friday looks like the best chance for some thunderstorms around our area,” he said.