Las Vegas under high wind watch tonight as storms slam into region

By Dave Toplikar

Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 | 4:40 a.m.

Be aware of sudden gusts while you're driving — strong winds are moving in today to the Las Vegas Valley, says Kevin Janison, KSNV-TV meteorologist.

"From the passive to the aggressive: A series of strong storm systems are slamming into the western United States," Janison said. "The weather headline for Southern Nevada is a high wind watch in effect for Saturday."

He said winds could begin as early as tonight and some gusts could reach or exceed 50 mph.

The National Weather Service says its high wind watch could create blowing dust and sand that would limit visibility to less than a mile.

"Most of the precipitation will stay north of Las Vegas, but we still have chance for a few light showers," Janison said.

Residents of Lincoln County should expect several inches of snow above 5,000 feet Saturday, he said.

"Expect some leftover breezes Sunday, followed by another storm, with the bulk of moisture going north of the Valley, but we’ll still have a slight chance for rain Monday into Tuesday," he said. "Friday’s high should hit 63 degrees following a morning low of 40 degrees, and we are expecting a mixture of sun and clouds today."

The National Weather Service says this morning’s low at McCarran International Airport was expected to be 40 degrees, which is the normal low for today's date. The record low was 17 degrees, set in 1937.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 48 degrees by 9 a.m., to 57 degrees by noon and reach a high of 62 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 1986 and 1971.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 59 degrees by 6 p.m., to 54 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 51 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Saturday's morning low will be 47 degrees and Saturday's high will climb to 63 degrees, they said.