Warmer weather on tap for the week

Steve Marcus

A full moon sets over the mountains at sunrise Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008. The view is from Summerlin Parkway and the I-215 Beltway.

By Dave Toplikar (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008 | 12:40 p.m.

Steve Marcus

The Stratosphere Tower, left, and other Las Vegas Strip casinos are shown at sunrise Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008. The view is from Summerlin Parkway and the I-215 Beltway.

After a hint of wintry weather this weekend, the ides of October are bringing more normal temperatures to the Las Vegas Valley.

The ides, or the 15th of the month under the old Roman calendar, began with a morning low temperature of 55 degrees — just two degrees below average for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.

The Las Vegas area will warm up to 80, which is just a degree shy of the normal 81 degree high for this time of year, according to weather service records.

Skies will be sunny, with an east wind between 3 and 5 mph. And if you're interested in seeing the full moon again, you're in luck — tonight's skies will be clear, with a low around 55 degrees. The moon, which will be 99 percent illuminated, will rise at 5:44 p.m. today and will set at 7:07 a.m. Thursday.

Thursday's high will be a bit above average, climbing to 83 degrees.

The weather service is predicting a high of 86 on Friday and highs in the low 80s through Sunday.

That's a lot different than last weekend, when snow fell in several areas around Las Vegas, including a few flurries in Summerlin on Saturday, near the 215 Beltway and Charleston Boulevard.

The summit of Mount Charleston, which is about 20 miles west of Las Vegas, was whitened by snow for the first time this season, when one to two inches of the white stuff fell. The weather service said that snowfall was one of the earliest on record for the mountain. The earliest at the official climate station was on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6, 1994, when one inch was reported. However, warmer weather has melted the mountain top covering.