Sunny and warm day ahead for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010 | 6:39 a.m.

While the Midwest will shivver through blizzards today, sunny skies and temperatures soaring into the upper 60s and low 70s are heading to Las Vegas.

High pressure will result in mostly clear skies and temperatures that are well above normal, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures are expected to range from the mid 60s on the west side of the Las Vegas Valley to the low 70s on the east side, the weather service said

Gusty north winds are expected today in the Lake Mead Recreational Area and the upper Colorado River Valley, forecasters said. The strongest gusts will be up to 35 mph in the Laughlin-Bullhead City area, they said.

A series of storms is expected to move into the region during the second half of the upcoming week, bringing cooler temperatures, gusty winds and chances for mountain snow and valley rain, the weather service said.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 54 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 37 degrees. The record low was 15 degrees, set in 1949.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 48 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 40 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 44 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 57 degrees by 9 a.m., to 66 degrees by noon and reach a high of 68 degrees by 2 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 58 degrees and the record high was 74 degrees, set in 1958.

Temperatures at McCarran are expected to drop to 60 degrees by 6 p.m., to 53 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 51 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Monday's morning low will be 47 degrees and Monday's high will climb to 67 degrees, they said.