Cold front to bring gusty winds, wildfire danger

By Dave Toplikar (contact)

Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 | 6:26 a.m.

The Las Vegas area is in for another warm, sunny day today, the last day of summer.

But a cold front will bring gusty north winds and dry air later tonight and Tuesday, creating boating and wildfire dangers for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, according to the National Weather Service.

The strongest winds today will be in north-to-south oriented valleys, such as the Colorado River Valley, forecasters said.

The weather service has issued a red flag wildfire warning for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the lower Colorado River valley from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday because of gusty winds and low relative humidity. North winds from 20 to 30 mph, with gusts around 40 mph, can be expected. The relative humidity will be less than 10 percent, forecasters said.

The gusty winds will also create hazardous conditions for boaters, forecasters said.

For the Las Vegas Valley, this morning's temperatures were starting out in the low 80s and were expected to climb to 92 degrees by noon and reach a high of 97 degrees by about 4 p.m., forecasters said.

The normal high for today's date is 92 degrees and the record high was 104, set in 1943.

Winds in Las Vegas will become northeast between 15 and 18 mph today, gusting to 25 mph, forecasters said.

Overnight, temperatures will drop to a low of about 71 degrees, then climb Tuesday, the first day of fall, to a high of about 91 degrees, forecasters said.

Afternoon temperatures will gradually warm up again this week, reaching a high of 100 degrees by Friday, forecasters said.

Although the weather is still relatively warm in southern Nevada, a freeze warning has been issued for most of northern Nevada late tonight through Tuesday morning as the cold front moves in.

And a freeze watch has been issued for northern Nye County, Humboldt County and extreme eastern Elko County, including the cities of Tonopah, Winnemucca, McDermitt and West Wendover, forecasters said.

Those in the freeze watch and warning areas should be prepared to cover garden plants and move temperature-sensitive plants indoors, if possible, the weather service said.