Showers stay away from Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar (contact)

Thursday, July 29, 2010 | 5:56 a.m.

Put away your umbrella and get out the sunscreen -- another hot and sunny afternoon is ahead for Las Vegas.

A few clouds will drift over the Las Vegas Valley today, but it's unlikely they'll bring any rain, according to the National Weather Service. Today's afternoon high will reach 103 degree, the weather service said.

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected mainly in Mohave County in northwest Arizona and Lincoln County in Nevada today and Friday, while a stable air mass remains over the western half of the region, forecasters said.

Monsoonal moisture might spread west of the Arizona border Saturday and Sunday in response to a low pressure system moving from Arizona toward southern California, forecasters said.

There's a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon and Saturday night for the Las Vegas area, with another slight chance on Monday, forecasters said.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 88 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 79 degrees. The record low was 64 degrees, set in 1984, 1944 and 1938.

Around the valley just before 6 a.m., temperatures were 85 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 86 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 86 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 91 degrees by 9 a.m., to 98 degrees by noon and reach a high of 103 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 104 degrees and the record high was 115 degrees, set in 1989.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 102 degrees by 6 p.m., to 96 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 91 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Friday's morning low will be 84 degrees and Friday's high will climb to 106 degrees, they said.