Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Las Vegas is colder than average; wind gusts expected to hit 50 mph

Updated Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015 | 4:22 p.m.

Secure those Christmas decorations, Las Vegas. It's probably going to get windy.

A wind advisory is in effect through 8 a.m. Sunday, with winds from the north between 25 and 35 mph expected, National Weather Service meteorologist Chad Shafer said.

Also according to Shafer:

Gusts are expected to reach up to 50 mph. Winds in most of the Las Vegas Valley should stay on the lower end of the 25 to 35 mph range, but places including the Spring Mountains and open desert areas could experience higher winds.

The temperature is expected to reach 46 to 48 degrees today with a low of 27 forecast for tonight. The high temperature should hit 44 Sunday.

There's no chance of rain or snow in the forecast over the weekend, but there is a 10 percent chance of precipitation in the valley Monday.

Conditions over the next few days are expected to be "way colder than average" but probably not record-breaking.

The normal high temperature for today's date is 56 degrees, with a normal low of 38 degrees.

The record low for today's date is 20 degrees, set in 1962.

The wind advisory comes after Christmas brought flurries to Las Vegas and snow to Reno as wintery weather swept east from the Sierra Nevada.

In Las Vegas, the Weather Service heralded rare Christmas Day snow flurries with the posting, "Ho, ho, ho! Vegas got snow!"

Weather Service meteorologist Chris Stachelski noted that the trace of snow recorded with rain showers overnight at McCarran International Airport tied a Christmas Day record set in 1941, and tied in 1988 and 2008.

Nothing stuck on the sidewalks of the Strip, but some northwest Las Vegas neighborhoods received a dusting of snow. It melted as the morning dawned clear and sunny with temperatures in the high 30s.

Meteorologist John Salmen said the wet weather blew in with windy squalls that brought gusts up to 38 mph between midnight and 2 a.m.

A hard-freeze warning is in effect for areas including Indian Springs, the Pahrump Valley and Primm for the next two nights, meteorologist John Adair said.

Temperatures of about 20 degrees overnight mean it might be cold enough for long enough that pipes could burst and unprotected plants might die, he said.

It's also important to ensure pets are not left outside, according to the Weather Service.

The warning is in effect from 10 p.m. today to 9 a.m. Sunday and during the same period Sunday into Monday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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