Highs soaring to upper 70s for Las Vegas

By Dave Toplikar

Friday, March 11, 2011 | 6:30 a.m.

Grab a basketball and head for an outdoor court. A warm and mostly sunny weekend, with highs in the upper 70s, is expected for the Las Vegas Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

Clear skies are expected this morning. Then periods of high clouds interspersed with periods of clear skies are expected through the weekend, the weather service said.

A series of weak storms will pass by to the north through the middle of the upcoming week, forecasters said. That will bring gusty winds to the Sierra and high clouds to much of the area, they said.

Temperatures are expected to remain above normal through the middle of next week, forecasters said.

There is a chance that a larger storm could bring gusty winds and a chance of rain late in the week into the next weekend, they said.

At 5:56 a.m. today, the temperature at McCarran International Airport was 54 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 46 degrees. The record low was 26 degrees, set in 1948.

Around the valley just before 6 a.m., temperatures were 48 degrees at North Las Vegas Airport, 51 degrees at Nellis Air Force Base and 53 degrees at Henderson Executive Airport.

Temperatures in the valley were to rise today to 64 degrees by 9 a.m., to 74 degrees by noon and reach a high of 79 degrees by 1 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 68 degrees and the record high was 86 degrees, set in 1989.

Temperatures are expected to drop to 74 degrees by 6 p.m., to 65 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 61 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Saturday's morning low will be 56 degrees and Saturday's high will climb to 77 degrees, they said.