Weather records for July may fall

Wednesday, July 28, 1999 | 10:55 a.m.

A National Weather Service meteorologist says there is about a 50-50 chance that the Las Vegas records for fewest number of 100-degree-plus days and total precipitation for the month of July could fall this week.

"I'd say 50-50 are good odds for Las Vegas," said Joe Nemeth, senior meteorologist for the Las Vegas office of the National Weather Service. "With moisture lurking toward the east, both records could go."

The July record of 18 days below 100 degrees, set in 1984, was tied July 20 when the mercury topped out at 99 degrees, Nemeth said.

Although a high of 103 degrees was recorded Tuesday, weather officials say that with thunderstorms projected through Saturday -- the last day of the month -- it could cool things enough to record the 19th day under the century mark.

The record for the wettest July could be broken this week if more than 0.3 inches of rain fall at the official weather station at McCarran International Airport. A trace was recorded Tuesday night.

The wettest July on record also occurred in 1984 when 2.48 inches of rain fell, the weather service said. As of today, 2.18 inches of precipitation was recorded at the official gauge -- 1.29 inches during the devastating July 8 storm -- making it the second wettest July in local history.

The Las Vegas office of the National Weather Service began keeping such records in 1937.

Nemeth said that the records for sub-100-degree days and rainfall are being threatened by low-level moisture up the Colorado River -- a key factor in fueling thunderstorms that saturate the desert and tend to keep temperatures down.

Today the valley is expected to be under mostly cloudy skies with a 40 percent chance of rain, mostly in the form of scattered afternoon thunderstorms in both Clark and Lincoln counties. The projected highs are expected to range from 98 to 108 degrees.

The extended forecast through Saturday calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms with highs expected to range from 98 to 108 degrees.