Have no fear: Many more 100-plus days are near

Thursday, May 30, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

It's official: Wednesday's high temperature reached 101 degrees, the first recorded high above 100 degrees this year.

That mark was no record-breaker, though. The official record high for the date was set at 108 degrees on May 29 in 1984, according to National Weather Service records dating back to 1937.

It is going to get hotter, though.

Today the National Weather Service predicts a high of at least 105 degrees, meteorologist Don Maker said.

For Las Vegas resident Jane Feldman, the choice of living in the heat of Las Vegas summers was easy after previously experiencing chilly climes.

"I've lived in Montana and Iceland and I choose to live in the Mojave Desert," Feldman said.

In the Midwest, residents do indoor projects during winter months when snow drifts can reach over 10 feet high, Feldman said. "Here you do indoor projects in the summer."

As soon as her son gets out of school, Feldman plans a cooling-off period at Mount Charleston.

Longtime resident and former County Commissioner Thalia Dondero, who taught Girl Scouts survival skills back in the 1960s, reminded people to carry plenty of drinking water for themselves and their families.

"The best thing I could tell anybody is stay in the shade," Dondero said. "You stay inside when it's hot. And a cold, wet cloth would help your brow once in a while."

For Las Vegas native Ronni DeFazio, 21, there is a one-word answer: "Swimming."

DeFazio's mother is so enamored with a cool pool that she lives in swimsuits, the daughter said. "And the heat is only going to get worse."

So what does Craig Dalebout plan to do in this heat? "We're all going to die," he said, joking as he scooted across a hot parking lot from cool office to air-conditioned car.

"Speak for yourself," replied Dalebout's co-worker, Patrick Torgerson. "I love the heat."

Regional climatologist Kelly Redmond, speaking from his office in Reno, said Las Vegas definitely can expect to heat up.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Las Vegas Valley was 117 degrees on July 24, 1942, Redmond said.

But the month of May in the past has been a scorcher. The earliest recorded 100 degree temp was on May 1, 1947. That same year, after 156 days with temperatures at or above 100 degrees, it reached 100 degrees on Oct. 4.

The longest the weather in Southern Nevada has waited to break into the 100-degree range was June 30, 1965, Redmond said. And in the last 61 years, summer temps have reached at least 109 degrees each year.

Las Vegan Susan Schrock pulled a mini-fan from her purse, demonstrating a mobile way to chill out. "Stay by the pool, get the mister out and get out the fan," she advised.