Published Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009 | 5:44 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009 | 3:31 p.m.
Sun weather coverage
Strong, gusty winds and dry air coming to the Las Vegas Valley this week could lead to rapidly spreading outdoor fires on Thursday, the National Weather Service said today.
The weather service has issued a red flag warning from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday across portions of Clark, Lincoln and Mohave counties in Nevada. A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring or are imminent. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures will create extreme fire growth potential, the weather service said
The weather service said an unseasonably strong area of low pressure will move toward northern California Wednesday and Thursday, bringing increasing southwest winds and dry air Thursday to southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and the Colorado River valley.
Today, the Las Vegas Valley will be mostly sunny and hot, with a high of 107 degrees. The normal high for this date is 104 degrees, and the record was 114, set in 1979.
Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 85 degrees and southwest winds between 6 and 9 mph, forecasters said.
Wednesday will bring a high of 106 degrees to the valley, with some wind gusts as high as 26 mph, the weather service said.
Breezy conditions are expected Thursday, with a south-to-outhwest wind 13 to 16 mph, increasing to between 22 and 25 mph, and gusts as high as 38 mph.
Cooler weather is moving in with the change in the weather. Thursday's high will be 101 degrees, but Thursday night's low will drop to around 75 degrees, with windy conditions continuing.
Friday's high is expected to be only 92 degrees, while Saturday's high will reach 96, the weather service said.
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