Gusty winds continuing tonight in Las Vegas area

By Dave Toplikar

Published Saturday, May 22, 2010 | 6:37 a.m.

Updated Saturday, May 22, 2010 | 5:35 p.m.

Dry, gusty winds, sunny skies and temperatures reaching only the upper 70s moved into Las Vegas today and more dry, gusty and much cooler weather is heading in tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

Just before 5 p.m. today, winds were gusting at 36 mph at McCarran International Airport, 33 mph at Red Rock Canyon, 28 mph at North Las Vegas Airport and 31 mph at Nellis Air Force Base.

A red flag warning for potential wildfires remains remains in effect until 11 p.m. today for the Las Vegas area. The warning area covers the Mojave Desert in California, Clark County in Nevada,the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the northwest deserts of Arizona.

For the rest of this evening, humidity levels are expected to be between 10 and 15 percent across much of the area, forecasters said.

The combination of gusty winds and low humidity will create the greatest potential for wildfires at elevations below 4,000 feet, where very dry vegetation is found that could catch fire easily, forecasters said.

The weather service has issued a wind advisory through 3 a.m. Sunday for the Spring Mountains and areas above 3,000 feet on the west side of the Las Vegas Valley. Winds are expected to be 25 to 35 mph, with gusts 40 to 50 mph. Locations affected include Mount Charleston, Red Rock, Summerlin and Blue Diamond.

Forecasters said a strong low pressure system will move into central California tonight and into Southern Nevada Sunday, resulting in gusty southwest winds across the southern desert areas of the region, with wind gusts between 35 and 45 mph continuing through the evening.

Showers and isolated thunderstorms will spread into the Southern Great Gasin tonight and south into the Mojave Desert on Sunday, forecasters said.

High temperatures are expected to be about 25 degrees below normal on Sunday, with snow levels lowering to near 5,000 feet, they said.

Monday's afternoon highs will rebound into the 70s, forecasters said. Temperatures remain relatively cool Tuesday through Friday, with afternoon temperatures in the low to mid 80s, forecasters said.

On Friday, winds reached sustained speeds from the southwest at 32 mph, gusting as high as 47 mph at McCarran International Airport. The relative humidity on Friday there dipped to 4 percent and the temperature reached a high of 90 degrees.

Around the valley just before 5 p. m., temperatures were 75 degrees at McCarran, 75 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 76 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 75 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport. The normal high for today's date is 90 degrees and the record high was 108 degrees, set in 2000.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 68 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 62 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Sunday's morning low will be 54 degrees and Sunday's high will climb to 67 degrees, they said.

At 5:56 a.m. today at McCarran, winds were from the southwest at 16 mph, gusting to 25 mph and the temperature was 61 degrees. The normal low temperature for today's date is 65 degrees. The record low was 45 degrees, set in 1975.