Fall weather creeps into Southern Nevada

Heather Rawlyk

Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

Cool temperatures and almost no wind greeted the Las Vegas Valley this morning after gusts up to 35 mph ravaged the valley Sunday.

The temperature this morning was only 62 degrees by 8:30 a.m., with the National Weather Services predicting highs for the day in the mid-70s. Wind was almost nonexistent at 5 mph this morning, but was expected to pick up to 10 to 15 mph by this afternoon.

This morning's weather was quite a change from the strong winds this past weekend, which prompted an air quality dust advisory for the Las Vegas Valley over the weekend and a wind advisory for the surrounding Clark County area Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

Winds Saturday reached 28 mph with gusts up to 35 mph, according to weather service meteorologist Ernie Cobb. The high winds stirred up airborne dust, causing the Clark County Air Quality Division to issue a dust advisory through Sunday evening, he said.

Public health officials urged children, seniors and people with chronic lung diseases and conditions such as asthma to stay indoors throughout the weekend, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said.

Dry, windy conditions tend to make the Las Vegas Valley's dust problems worse, Welling said.

As part of the dust advisory, county officials notified construction site operators to stabilize their properties and to check for blowing dust and debris as required by local air quality regulations, she said.

On Sunday The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the Clark County area surrounding the Las Vegas Valley from noon until 8 p.m., after winds increased to 30 mph with gusts up to 38 mph, Cobb said.

The cool temperatures those winds brought should stick around for a while, he said.

"This week is going to be clear with sunny skies -- it's going to be really nice," Cobb said. "It's not going to be nearly as windy, but the temperatures will still only be in the lower 70s and then warming up to the lower 80s by the end of the week."

Temperatures could increase to the lower 90s by Saturday, he said.