Breezy, with highs reaching upper 80s today for Las Vegas Valley

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | 5:22 a.m.

Breezy conditions, along with sunny skies and temperatures climbing into the upper 80s, are on the way today to the Las Vegas Valley.

The winds are moving in as a Pacific storm system heads into northern California today and into Nevada on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Winds will be from the southwest up to 22 mph, gusting as high as 30 mph in the valley, the weather service said.

The storm will bring a chance of showers across portions of the southern Great Basin, forecasters said.

While temperatures will be several degrees above normal today, afternoon highs will drop Thursday to around normal as the system moves into Nevada, they said.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 65 degrees. The normal low for today's date 55 degrees. The record low was 34 degrees, set in 1966.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 60 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 64 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 61 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 70 degrees by 9 a.m., to 81 degrees by noon and reach a high of 87 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 79 degrees and the record high was 97 degrees, set in 1994 and 1938.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 86 degrees by 6 p.m., to 77 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 72 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Thursday's morning low will be 63 degrees and Thursday's high will climb to 83 degrees, they said.