Driest summer ever recorded in valley

Monday, Sept. 16, 2002 | 11:01 a.m.

The Las Vegas Valley suffered its driest summer on record, and this fall is shaping up to continue drought conditions and warmer-than-normal temperatures, forecasters said.

As if to prove the point, Sunday's high reached 99 degrees at McCarran International Airport, 100 degrees in North Las Vegas and 107 degrees in Laughlin, National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Schlott said. The normal temperature for this time of year is 95 degrees.

June through August were much warmer and drier than average in the nation, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Las Vegas experienced the highest average temperature for July at 94.5 degrees, topping the previous average high for the month at 93.4 degrees, set in 1959 and 1989.

Drought affected half of the country, and average temperatures were the warmest since the 1930s, scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., said.

Nevada, along with North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Utah and Arizona, recorded the driest year since 1895.

With nearly half the United States experiencing drought, the fall and winter outlook offers "limited relief," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jack Kelly, NOAA's National Weather Service director.

For Southern Nevada, if the relief comes it will arrive in late December or early next year, Schlott said.

A mild El Nino is evident in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which could bring some moisture to parched Southern Nevada, Schlott said.

December through January will be drier than average for the Northwest and northern Rockies, where the Colorado River gathers water delivered to seven Western states, including Nevada, California and Arizona.

While El Nino's warmer ocean waters typically deliver more rainfall to Southern California and Southern Nevada, this year's event is predicted to be mild, Schlott said.

In 1997 and 1998 a strong El Nino brought extreme weather to most of the nation, something that is not expected this time, said Conrad Lautenbacher, chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.