Hotter, dry and windy for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 | 5:36 a.m.

Sunny skies, temperatures climbing to about 106 degrees and gusty winds are on the way this afternoon for the Las Vegas Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

Dry weather with temperatures near to slightly above normal can be expected through the weekend for the region, according to the National Weather Service.

Breezy southwest winds, gusting up to 30 mph today, will continue each afternoon through the weekend, the weather service said.

At 4:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 86 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 81 degrees. The record low was 58 degrees, set in 1937.

Around the valley just before 5 a.m., temperatures were 84 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 80 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 86 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 94 degrees by 9 a.m., to 103 degrees by noon and reach a high of 106 degrees by 3 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 104 degrees and the record high was 114 degrees, set in 1979.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 103 degrees by 6 p.m., to 93 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 85 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Friday's morning low will be 80 degrees and Friday's high will climb to 105 degrees, they said.