Warmer weather springs early

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 9:43 a.m.

It feels like spring in Las Vegas, even though the calendar says it's late winter.

Temperatures during the last days of February are expected to be higher than normal, National Weather Service spokesman Brian Fuis said Thursday.

Temperatures today and Saturday were expected to reach the low- to mid-70s, Fuis said.

Average daytime temperatures in Las Vegas during February are about 64 degrees, with lows near 42, said Kelly Redmond, deputy director of the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno.

The record for February was 81 degrees, recorded Feb. 20 in both 1981 and 1982.

The climate center looks at climate trends and has been tracking temperature and rainfall patterns for more than 50 years in Southern Nevada.

Since 1950 average temperatures for February in Southern Nevada have climbed almost 5 degrees, Redmond said.

"Springs are warmer and earlier," he said.

An area of high pressure is sitting just north of the Las Vegas Valley, Fuis said. Clear and warmer temperatures will prevail during the next couple of weeks.

Any storm systems packing rain or snow will remain in Northern Nevada or head farther north.

The Las Vegas Valley is 1.08 inches below normal for precipitation this year, Fuis said. Normally the area receives 3.26 inches of rainfall a year.

"Typically, February has been one of our wettest months," Fuis said. "This is very dry for us."

Currently, the area is not being influenced by the Pacific Ocean, but that could change in coming years. If a patch of warm water builds west of South America -- a weather pattern known as El Nino -- the West Coast could experience warmer and wetter weather than is usual.