High wind warning issued for Las Vegas, rain and snow possible tonight

By Dave Toplikar

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 | 5:29 a.m.

Hang onto the wheel with both hands — strong gusty winds are going to make driving difficult today and tonight through the Las Vegas area.

And there’s a chance of rain in the valley and snow in the mountains tonight as a cold front blusters in.

The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning from 10 a.m. today to 4 a.m. Wednesday for Southern Nevada and parts of southeast California.

Winds will be south to southwest at 30 to 40 mph, with gusts of 60 to 70 mph becoming northerly this evening and overnight, the weather service said.

Forecasters said the powerful winds will make travel dangerous along area roadways, especially for high-profile vehicles.

Trees and power lines might be blown down and areas of blowing sand and dust could sharply lower visibility, especially near dry lake beds, they said.

The high winds also bring the possibility of property damage, they said.

The winds are the result of a strong low pressure system and cold front that is moving into the region, resulting in strong and gusty winds from the southwest ahead of the cold front and strong northerly winds behind the cold front tonight, forecasters said.

The cold front will bring a slight chance of rain showers early in the evening, then a slight chance of rain showers and snow shower in the late evening and overnight to the valley, forecasters said. Snow could fall in elevations as low as 2,500 feet after midnight, they said.

The weather service said this morning’s low at McCarran was expected to be 54 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 48 degrees. The record low was 24 degrees, set in 1939.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 62 degrees by 9 a.m., to 70 degrees by noon and reach a high of 75 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 68 degrees and the record high was 85 degrees, set in 1972.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 71 degrees by 6 p.m., to 60 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 55 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Wednesday's morning low will be 45 degrees and Wednesday's high will climb to 56 degrees, they said.