Sunny and warm, climbing into upper 60s

By Dave Toplikar

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 | 4:55 a.m.

Sunny skies and temperatures running close to 70 degrees are on tap for Las Vegas this afternoon, says Kevin Janison, KSNV-TV meteorologist.

"We are livin’ large!" Janison said.

This morning's low will start out around 45 degrees, he said.

"Then … we're looking for an afternoon high of 68 degrees, the warmest day in three weeks," Janison said. "High pressure should keep us sunny and mild through early Friday."

He said a distant cold front will graze northern parts of Nevada.

"And while most of the moisture will remain up there, we should see some breezes Friday afternoon through midday Saturday," he said. "Another byproduct will be a slight dip in the temps, but I’m still expecting 60s for highs through the weekend.

"We’re on track to have one of the 10 warmest Januarys since weather records have been kept in Las Vegas. And … it’s possible we could crack the top five depending on this final week."

The National Weather Service says this morning’s low at McCarran International Airport was expected to be 45 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 40 degrees. The record low was 10 degrees, set in 1937.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 53 degrees by 9 a.m., to 64 degrees by noon and reach a high of 68 degrees by 4 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 59 degrees and the record high was 77 degrees, set in 1975.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 61 degrees by 6 p.m., to 51 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 47 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Friday's morning low will be 44 degrees and Friday's high will climb to 64 degrees, they said.