Sub-freezing temperatures hit Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 6:33 a.m.

Grab a warm drink and a coat this morning - temperatures dipped down under the 32-degree freezing mark overnight in the Las Vegas Valley.

While temperatures will climb into the 50s today, another freeze warning has been issued for tonight. And a storm moving in could bring some brief snow into Summerlin on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures had fallen to 31 degrees by 5:56 a.m. today at McCarran International Airport. The normal low for today's date at McCarran is 38 degrees and the record low is 24 degrees, set in 1948.

Other areas around the city were also near or below the freezing mark. Henderson Executive Airport was reporting 25 degrees at 5:56 a.m., North Las Vegas Airport reported 33 degrees at 5:53 a.m. and Nellis Air Force Base reported 28 degrees at 5:55 a.m.

The weather service's freeze warning was to remain in effect until 8 this morning. Another freeze warning will run from 10 tonight until 9 a.m. Saturday for much of the Clark County and San Bernardino County Desert areas, the weather service said.

A freeze warning is issued when the temperatures could drop low enough to kill crops or other sensitive vegetation. The weather service advises bringing pets and delicate plants indoors and turning off sprinklers that are set to run any time between 10 tonight and 9 a.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service says that Monday night mixed rain and snow could reach the 3,500-foot elevation level in the Las Vegas Valley, including extreme western Summerlin, Red Rock and Bonnie Springs.

However, the no accumulations are expected from any snow falling in the Las Vegas Valley, forecasters said.

The snow will be swept in by a strong storm system that will move across the Southern Great Basin Monday night and Tuesday morning, bringing widespread precipitation, the weather service said.

Another storm could affect the area on Thursday, forecasters said.

Today's skies will be sunny and temperatures were expected to rise to 41 degrees by 9 a.m., to 50 degrees by noon and top out around 54 degrees around 2 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 59 degrees and the record high is 76, set in 1939.

If you're headed out tonight, you'll find partly cloudy skies and temperatures dropping to 42 degrees at 6 p.m., to 37 at 9 p.m. and to 34 degrees at midnight, forecasters said.

Saturday's morning low will be 31 degrees about 6 a.m., then temperatures will climb to a high of 58 degrees by mid afternoon, with mostly sunny skies, forecasters said.