Isolated wind bursts, lightning and thunderstorms move out of Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 | 4:23 a.m.

A few more strong breezes will dust up the Las Vegas area today, but not nearly like they were on Monday, says Kevin Janison, KSNV-TV meteorologist.

A stubborn area of low pressure formed in southeastern Utah on Monday, then backtracked toward the west-southwest and moved directly over the Las Vegas Valley, Janison said.

"This system was responsible for the continuation of the weekend winds. In fact, the conditions were right to spawn a couple of strong dust devils which caused some roof damage on the Valley's east side," he said.

Then, the core of the system moved directly over the Las Vegas Valley during the late evening and thunderstorms tried to form, he said.

"There were more bolts than drops, but it certainly added some weather entertainment," he said.

The system pulls away quickly today, but breezy to windy conditions will continue before finally subsiding in the afternoon, he said.

"Expect the temps to be in the upper 80s this afternoon following a low in the mid-60s," Janison said.

The National Weather Service said isolated thunderstorms will develop today mainly southeast of Interstate 15.

The weather service said this morning’s low at McCarran International Airport was expected to be 64 degrees, which is the normal low for today's date. The record low was 42 degrees, set in 1964.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 72 degrees by 9 a.m., to 82 degrees by noon and reach a high of 89 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 86 degrees and the record high was 102 degrees, set in 1989.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 88 degrees by 6 p.m., to 82 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 76 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Wednesday's morning low will be 68 degrees and Wednesday's high will climb to 94 degrees, they said.