Hot and gusty for Las Vegas, with wind advisory at Lake Mead

By Dave Toplikar

Saturday, April 2, 2011 | 6:13 a.m.

Get ready for a warm and windy day — temperatures are expected to soar into the 90s again, with gusty winds creating boating and driving hazards in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service has issued a lake wind advisory from noon to 9 p.m. for the Lake Mead National Recreation area, including Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Winds will be from the south to southwest at 20 to 30 mph, with gusts approaching 40 mph at times, forecasters said.

They said strong winds in excess of 25 mph will create very choppy water and large waves that could capsize or swamp small craft. They urged operators of small craft to avoid open water and stay close to short in coves and inlets protected from the wind.

The weather service also issued a wind advisory from noon to 9 p.m. for the Sheep Range, Lincoln County, western Clark and southern Nye counties and the northwest plateau of Mohave County. They said winds will be from the southwest at 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, with can make driving difficult, especially for motorcycles and high-profile vehicles. They said they high winds can also raise blowing dust and sand, reducing visibility.

South to southwest winds will increase across the Las Vegas Valley today with sustained winds around 20 to 25 mph and gusts up to 40 mph at times, the weather service said.

As a cold front moves in, temperatures will be cooler Sunday and Monday, they said. Warmer weather will return Tuesday and Wednesday before another storm affects the region late in the week and into next weekend, they said.

The weather service said Friday's high temperature peaked at 92 degrees 4:03 p.m. at McCarran International Airport, which tied the daily record for April 1 last set in 1966. It was also the first time this year that McCarran had reached at least 90 degrees.

High temperature records were set in other areas in the region.

Mount Charleston reached 69 degrees, beating the old record of 66 set in 2002. Desert Rock Airport near Mercury hit 87 degrees, beating the old record of 84 set in 2002. In California, the Barstow-Daggett Airport reached 95 degrees, breaking the old record of 93 set in 1966. Needles hit 100 degrees, beating the old daily record for April 1 of 97 set in 1966 and making it the earliest date to reach 100 degrees. And at Kingman, Ariz., the high hit 87 degrees, breaking the old daily record of 86 set in 2002.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 72 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 51 degrees. The record low was 31 degrees, set in 1975.

Around the valley just before 6 a.m., temperatures were 64 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 65 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 70 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 75 degrees by 9 a.m., to 84 degrees by noon and reach a high of 93 degrees by 5 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 74 degrees and the record high was 95 degrees, set in 1966.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 92 degrees by 6 p.m., to 81 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 75 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Sunday's morning low will be 66 degrees and Sunday's high will climb to 80 degrees, they said.