Windy Groundhog Day ahead for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 | 4:55 a.m.

A blustery, cool Groundhog Day is ahead for any of the weather-forecasting critters in Las Vegas, says Kevin Janison, KSNV-TV meteorologist.

"It’s going to be a bad hair day for the groundhog," Janison said.

Pennsylvania's official weather-forecasting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow this morning, meaning there will be six more weeks of winter.

Meanwhile, a cold front passing through the Las Vegas area is making winds a factor throughout today, Janison said.

"Gusts could easily exceed 30 mph. Sustained winds will be 15 to 25-plus from the north-northwest most of the day," Janison said.

A morning low in the lower 40s will feel even colder due to wind chills, he said.

"Even the afternoon high of 60 degrees won’t quite feel balmy," Janison said.

Breezes could linger into the first half of Friday, he said.

"However, the winds will back off and super weather should greet Super Bowl Weekend," he said. "By the way, the Wednesday high of 71 degrees was the warmest day of 2012 so far!"

According to the National Weather Service, this morning’s low at McCarran International Airport was expected to be 49 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 41 degrees. The record low was 22 degrees, set in 1951, 1950 and 1946.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 53 degrees by 9 a.m., to 59 degrees by noon and reach a high of 62 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 60 degrees and the record high was 77 degrees, set in 1995.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 57 degrees by 6 p.m., to 48 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 44 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Friday's morning low will be 41 degrees and Friday's high will climb to 57 degrees, they said.