Three days of cold temperatures in the Las Vegas Valley turns into several days of potentially dangerous winter storm activity, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunday in Las Vegas was slightly warmer than Saturday, with a high of 52 at McCarran International Airport after a low of 32 on Saturday morning – the first freeze in 674 days since February 5, 2020.
On Tuesday, gusty winds will spread eastward and hit much of the Mojave Desert and northwestern Arizona. In combination with the expected rain, it will be an uncomfortable day! Watch out for cross winds and longer travel times to your destinations. #cawx #azwx #nvwx pic.twitter.com/QRSpqdDx9W
– NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) December 12, 2021
Sunday morning lows ranged from 33 at McCarran and North Las Vegas airports to 27 at Henderson Executive Airport. The afternoon highs were several degrees below the forecasted upper 50s. McCarran only got 52 degrees.
The forecast high for Monday is 60 with partly sunny skies.
Dangerous weather forecast
The weather service issued a wind warning for the entire Las Vegas region and a winter storm warning for the Spring Mountains and Sheep Range for Tuesday.
Strong winds and heavy rains as well as up to one meter of snow are expected. The warning / consultation starts on Tuesday at 4 a.m. for 24 hours.
Southern winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour can blow up to 80 miles per hour in southern Nevada, northwest Arizona, and southeast California.
The winter storm could lead to very dangerous trips to the mountains and elsewhere, said meteorologist Trevor Boucher.
“There’s a very good chance we’ll see a quarter of an inch of rain in much of the valley and over 7,000 feet to a foot of snow in the mountains, 4 to 20 inches over 5,000 feet,” Boucher said.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.
