Warming up for Las Vegas, but rain possible for weekend

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 | 4:58 a.m.

Mostly sunny skies and an afternoon high in the upper 50s today for the Las Vegas Valley, says Kevin Janison, KSNV-TV meteorologist.

"Another cold morning to get Wednesday started … we’re expecting the low to be 34 degrees," Janison said, "but with a mostly sunny day, we should be able to reach 58 degrees for the afternoon high."

A huge storm system which will hammer the Northwest will throw a few clouds toward the region, mainly of the thin cirrus variety, he said.

"Over the next couple of days, we’ll warm back into the 60s," he said.

However, a pattern hiccup will set the stage for an interesting weekend, Janison said.

"Winds will be on the increase, but the headline will be rain," he said. "We haven’t had measurable rain since Dec. 18, but this looks like our best chance since then. As of now, the timing would be late Sunday into Monday morning. We’ll keep you updated as the storm evolves.

The National Weather Service said this morning’s low at McCarran was expected to be 34 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 40 degrees. The record low was 20 degrees, set in 1949.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 43 degrees by 9 a.m., to 54 degrees by noon and reach a high of 58 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 58 degrees and the record high was 72 degrees, set in 1971.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 53 degrees by 6 p.m., to 46 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 42 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Thursday's morning low will be 36 degrees and Thursday's high will climb to 62 degrees, they said.