Hot and dry again for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Published Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 | 5:54 a.m.

Updated Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 | 10:31 a.m.

Those misting sprayers at Las Vegas' outdoor restaurant areas are getting a workout this week. A mix of dry air and higher-than-normal heat will creep over the city again this afternoon, according to forecasters.

The National Weather Service says temperatures will rise to a high of 106 degrees today in the Las Vegas Valley, with mostly calm winds becoming easterly at 5 mph.

The normal high for today's date is 102 degrees, while the record high is 111, set in 1992. The high Monday was 103 degrees at 4:16 p.m., with a relative humidity of around 4 percent.

Ozone levels will be in the unhealthy range today for people with lung ailments, according to the government's AIRNow program. Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as asthma, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, AIRNow said in its updated forecast for Las Vegas.

Higher-than-normal temperatures are in the forecast for the rest of the work week, with highs mostly in the 106- to 107-degree range.

However, moister air and more clouds are expected to roll into the area by the end of the week — and with it the chance for some showers over the weekend.

The weather service said an area of high pressure is expected to become centered near the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, Mexico and Arizona by Friday morning.

That will allow moisture in the form of clouds and a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms to return to Mohave County in Arizona and eastern San Bernardino County in California by Friday afternoon, forecasters said.

The moisture could spread north Saturday, bringing a better chance of thunderstorms to southern Nevada, northwest Arizona an southeast California, the weather service said.