Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011 | 3:18 p.m.
Sun weather coverage
Las Vegas temperatures broke a record today on what officially has become the hottest day of the year.
The temperature at McCarran International Airport, the official weather station for Las Vegas, set a record for today's date, hitting 112 degrees about 2:30 p.m., the National Weather Service said.
The previous record for Aug. 24 was 110 degrees, set in 1985.
An excessive heat warning for the region will stay in place until 8 p.m. Friday due to “dangerously hot weather across the Mojave Desert region,” the weather service said.
Today also was the fourth time since record-keeping began that Las Vegas reached 112 degrees this late in the year, the weather service said. That occurred on Aug. 30 and 31, 1948, when thermometers peaked at 112 degrees, and Sept. 1, 1950, when it hit 113 degrees.
Temperatures are expected to drop early Thursday only to 87 degrees, then climb during the afternoon to 110 degrees, the weather service said.
The heat will begin to subside, but only slightly, with high temperatures of 109 degrees Friday, 107 on Saturday and 106 on Sunday.
Las Vegas also recorded a record high Tuesday, when a temperature of 110 degrees became the warmest Aug. 23 ever in the city.
The average high on today's date at McCarran is 101 degrees, according to weather service records.
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