Cooler and breezy for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Monday, May 17, 2010 | 6:08 a.m.

Las Vegas can expect cooler temperatures -- reaching only the low 80s -- increasing clouds and wind gusts up to 25 mph this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

A Pacific storm moving across the region this afternoon through Tuesday will bring breezy conditions, scattered showers, isolated thunderstorms and cooler temperatures, the weather service said.

Winds will be light this morning, then increase through the afternoon from the south to about 15 mph, gusting as high as 25 mph, forecasters said.

Isolated showers are possible after about 11 tonight through about 11 a.m. Tuesday, forecasters said. Breezy conditions are also expected Tuesday, with gusts around 20 to 25 mph, they said.

After the system moves through, temperatures will briefly rebound on Wednesday and Thursday, with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s, before another round of windy and cooler weather develops going into the weekend, forecasters said.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 71 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 63 degrees. The record low was 43 degrees, set in 1962.

Around the valley just before 6 a.m., temperatures were 66 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 69 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 65 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 74 degrees by 9 a.m., to 78 degrees by noon and reach a high of 82 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 88 degrees and the record high was 102 degrees, set in 2009, 1970 and 1937.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 80 degrees by 6 p.m., to 73 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 68 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Tuesday's morning low will be 63 degrees and Tuesday's high will climb to 79 degrees, they said.