Hot and smoky conditions today in Las Vegas

Temperature to climb to 108, with wildfire warnings to the north and west

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 | 7:27 a.m.

Sun weather

Current conditions, today's forecast, neighborhood weather conditions, historical climatological information

Be prepared for smoky, windy and very hot conditions today in Las Vegas, according to the National Weather Service.

And if you're headed west or north of the Las Vegas Valley, be wary of the potential for range wildfires, forecasters said.

The weather service has issued a red flag wild fire warning from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for areas north and west of the Las Vegas Valley, including the Clark County mountains.

Southwest winds will increase late this morning, with gusts of 35 to 40 mph expected for much of the afternoon, the weather service said.

The winds combined with low relative humidity and very high fire danger will produce critical fire weather conditions, the weather service said.

The weather service said areas of smoke from the Station wildfire in southern California will affect much of the Mojave Desert today, including parts of northwest Arizona, California and southern Nevada.

The smoke will make tonight's sunset colorful, but people with respiratory illnesses may want to stay indoors today, the weather service said.

Today's high temperature for the Las Vegas Valley will be 108 degrees. The normal high for today is 99 degrees and the record high is 112 degrees, set in 1948.

Saturday's high temperature climbed to 109 degrees, which was 10 degrees above normal and just below the record of 110 degrees set for that date in 1948.

Winds will be calm early in the valley, then pick up from the southwest between 17 and 20 mph and gust as high as 28 mph today, forecasters said.

Temperatures will decline a little Monday through the middle of the week, but will still be several degrees above normal, forecasters said.

Highs will be 106 degrees Monday, 103 Tuesday, 104 Wednesday and 105 Thursday, the weather service said.

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

By rob (Staff)

8/30/09 at 9:33 a.m.

Suggest removal

This doesn't seem like a "no comment" weather story.
By Nevada_89801

8/30/09 at 11:19 a.m.

Suggest removal

Actually its very informative. I was very surprised to look out my window this morning and not be able to see the strip. Now I know why!

And I can't wait for sunset tonight to see the colors!
By mikegino

8/30/09 at 12:36 p.m.

Suggest removal

It's really a miserable day outside. The fires in Cali must really be bad. I'm ready to see snow on Mt. Charleston again soon. I hope all of the trash that was left last year is gone. The park service needs more trash collection points and clean-up volunteers.
By Lenny_V

8/30/09 at 2:43 p.m.

Suggest removal

Whoa, the global warming must have been crazy in 1948. I'm surprised we may it this far without a global meltdown.
By Krases

8/30/09 at 6:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

The sun is just about to set. First the light was gold, then orange, then a dark bronze tone and finally red. Very beautiful, but I wouldn't want to breath it. The swamp coolers were off today and the air conditioning was on to clean the air more.

Also, Lenny_V, global warming is based on multi-year trends, not single year exceptions.
By mikegino

8/30/09 at 7:21 p.m.

Suggest removal

Krases: global cooling or warming is based on climate cycles involving millions of years.

P.S. This did not break the truce like the scummuy Commies did in 1968 during Tet. Swamp coolers have always made me ill.
By Krases

8/30/09 at 9:41 p.m.

Suggest removal

Weather patterns can greatly change in a matter of decades, not millions of years. Global warming does not necessarily mean things will feel warm all the time, it does mean that weather phenomenon can become much more dangerous and devastating.

Worst case scenario: the Earth becomes something like Venus.
By El_Lobo

8/31/09 at 10:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

The fires in California and the resulting smoke & smog coming from there reminds all of us that the planet we live on is very, very small.

Our ever increasing population is a major problem for us. There's only so many natural resources and once they're gone, we're in big trouble...

We have approximately 6.4 billion people on the planet. By the 22nd century (91 years from now) we will have over 12 billion people. It's not hard to see where we're headed!

Maybe global warming is just a hoax....even if it proves to be a hoax, we have other problems that need to be addressed that will, if not dealt with, will bring down our civilization...end our way of life as we know it!

This is not simply a "the sky is falling" rant...

Think about it....
By Harley

8/31/09 at 12:17 p.m.

Suggest removal

California Burning

All the trees are charred
And the sky a haze
I've been for a walk
On a muggy day
I'd be safe from harm
If I wasn't in L.A.
California burnin'
On such a muggy day

Stopped into a church
I passed along the way
Well, I got down on my knees
And I pretend to pray
The preacher starts to choke
He knows we cannot stay
California burning
On such a muggy day

All the homes are charred
And the sky a blaze
I've been for a walk
On this muggy day
If I didn't smell her
I'd return today
California burnin'
On such a muggy day
On such a muggy day

:)
By Lenny_V

8/31/09 at 6:31 p.m.

Suggest removal

Single year exceptions? Ha ha, nice way to exclude something that doesn't find your theory of destruction.