Misters on! More extreme heat returns to Las Vegas Valley

Another round of extreme heat has arrived in Las Vegas. Fortunately, it’s not going to last as long as previous heat waves.

An extreme heat warning has been issued for Southern Nevada, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting through 8 tonight, the National Weather Service said.

Expect “dangerously hot late-season conditions” in the region, with temperatures ranging from 112 to 116 degrees in Death Valley and the Colorado River Valley to 105-110 for Las Vegas, Moapa Valley and Pahrump Valley.

A high-pressure system that normally sits over the Four Corners region (which brings the chances of monsoon rain to Las Vegas), has shifted west, causing the temperatures to spike, said Jenn Soulat, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Las Vegas.

Today’s forecast high is 106, two degrees short of the record set in 1945. The valley has topped the century mark since Tuesday; it was 104 on Wednesday and Friday’s forecast high is 104. But temperatures will drop into the mid-90s by Sunday. The average high for mid-September is in the upper 90s.

Last Sunday, Harry Reid International Airport recorded a cool 84 degrees, thanks to cloud cover from the threat of rain.

Record summer heat

Last month was the warmest August on record, with an average temperature of 96.3 degrees, beating out 2020 (95.6).

On Aug. 1, Las Vegas saw 115, its hottest day of the year. And the month was dominated by several heat warnings, the last one expiring in the month’s final days.

Also, July was the third warmest on record, with an average temperature of 96.6.