Wet weather possible tonight for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010 | 5:43 a.m.

Weather conditions will be good this morning — partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 40s and 50s — for runners in the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon.

But wet and snowy weather is on the way tonight and Monday to the region, according to the National Weather Service.

Chance of valley rain and mountain snow will increase tonight as a storm system moves into the Great Basin, the weather service said. Most of the activity will be north of Interstate 15, they said.

Rain amounts in the valleys will generally be less than a tenth of an inch, while up to 2 inches of new snow is possible in the mountains, they said. Heavy snow is expected in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada.

Rain and snow showers will diminish across Lincoln County and northwest Arizona around noon Monday, forecasters said.

They expect quiet weather, with above-normal temperatures, Tuesday through Saturday.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 44 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 38. The record low was 18 degrees, set in 1948.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 41 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 34 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 41 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 51 degrees by 9 a.m., to 58 degrees by noon and reach a high of 62 degrees by 2 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 59 degrees and the record high was 76 degrees, set in 1938.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 56 degrees by 6 p.m., to 53 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 49 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Monday's morning low will be 42 degrees and Monday's high will climb to 61 degrees, they said.