Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Hot, dry and windy conditions prompt Red Flag fire warning for Las Vegas

Cooler weather and a chance for storms moving in Wednesday

Watch out for outdoor fires today — strong winds, temperatures soaring into the mid 80s and very dry conditions have led the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning for the Las Vegas area and most of Southern Nevada.

The warning, in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, says wind speeds will increase by late morning, then peak in the afternoon hours before decreasing below critical thresholds Tuesday night.

Winds will be from the south at 15 to 25 mph, with gusts climbing to around 35 mph. Humidity will be between 5 and 10 percent.

The weather service said the first of two storm systems will cross the area on Wednesday, followed by the second on Friday and Saturday.

“The winds will continue to blow into Wednesday. That’s when we have the chance for rain,” says Kevin Janison, KSNV-TV meteorologist.

“I think we’ll see some showers, just not a lot of rain falling,” Janison said.

He said that second system will bring a 50 percent chance of light showers Friday, with those showers lingering Saturday.

Temperatures will be running some 10 to 20 degrees below normal Wednesday through Saturday, forecasters said.

The weather service said this morning’s low at McCarran International Airport was expected to be 59 degrees. The normal low for today's date is 54 degrees. The record low was 38 degrees, set in 1950.

Temperatures at McCarran were to rise today to 67 degrees by 9 a.m., to 77 degrees by noon and reach a high of 85 degrees by 5 p.m., forecasters said. The normal high for today's date is 77 degrees and the record high was 91 degrees, set in 1985.

Temperatures are expected to be 85 degrees by 7 p.m., then drop to 76 degrees by 9 p.m. and to 68 degrees by midnight, forecasters said.

Wednesday's morning low will be 59 degrees and Wednesday's high will climb to 70 degrees, they said.

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