Cooler, sunny, less windy for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 | 5:26 a.m.

It should be a good day for a brisk walk or a round of golf — sunny skies and afternoon highs climbing into the upper 70s are in store for the Las Vegas Valley today, according to the National Weather Service.

As high pressure moves over the area today, winds will become lighter and afternoon temperatures will be about five degrees below normal, the weather service said.

The next low pressure system will affect the region Thursday through Saturday, bringing strong winds again to the Las Vegas Valley and precipitation to the north, forecasters said.

Forecasters say west to southwest winds will increase Thursday across the Mojave Desert as the cold front moves into northern Nevada. Temperatures will climb to 90 degrees on Thursday in the valley.

Strong westerly winds will continue across the Mojave Desert on Friday, while winds will shift to the north across central Nevada, they said.

The cold front will move south through the Mojave Desert Friday night, with north winds persisting through Saturday, they said.

Temperatures are expected to be well below normal for the weekend, climbing to only 70 degrees on Saturday, they said.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 56 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 57 degrees. The record low was 39 degrees, set in 1984.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 56 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 55 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 53 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 62 degrees by 9 a.m., to 71 degrees by noon and reach a high of 77 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 82 degrees and the record high was 99 degrees, set in 2000.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 76 degrees by 6 p.m., to 72 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 68 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Thursday's morning low will be 62 degrees and Thursday's high will climb to 90 degrees, they said.