Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Las Vegas, NV

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127 FXUS65 KVEF 271811 AFDVEF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 1111 AM PDT Thu Jun 27 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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Precipitation chances will dwindle through Friday as monsoon moisture is shunted east. Meanwhile, breezy winds return and hot temperatures persist heading into next week. New wildfires in central California will bring dense smoke to Inyo County at times while hazy conditions are possible elsewhere across southern Nevada.
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&& .UPDATE...
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A shortwave trough axis pushing through the forecast area today will usher dry air into the area through the day today. That said, anomalous PWATs will remain over northwestern Arizona through the afternoon. Clear skies this morning will allow CAPE to exceed 1000 J/kg. As such, can expect another round of convection today in eastern Lincoln County and northern Mohave County today. Convection will continue to favor the higher terrain with frequent lightning, locally heavy rainfall, and gusty winds possible. Steering flow of around 15-20 kts across the Arizona Strip should be enough to prevent flash flooding, but cannot rule out increased flow in washes - especially in areas that have received rain over the last few days due to increased soil moisture. The low temperature this morning was 91 in Las Vegas. If temperatures do not drop below 90F before midnight, this will break the record for consecutive days of low temperatures 90F or warmer in the month of June. The previous record was 3 days set yesterday. The record before that was 2 days set in both 2021 and 2017.
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&& .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
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153 AM PDT Thu Jun 27 2024/ .SHORT TERM...Through Friday night. Drier air starting to infiltrate into the region this morning. As of 1 am, surface dewpoints around Las Vegas running 12-17 degrees lower than last night, Bishop CA 7 degrees lower and Kingman 6 degrees lower, respectively. That drying trend will continue well into Friday as guidance shows surface dewpoints falling back into the 20s and 30s in eastern California and southern Nevada, and 30s and 40s for northwest Arizona. But before all that moisture gets scoured out there will be isolated thunderstorms in northeastern Mohave County and far northern Lincoln County today, no storms in the forecast Friday. Wind gusts will be stronger today and Friday as a trough quickly progresses east through the northern states. That westerly flow will allow for the transport of dense smoke into Inyo County from a complex of wildfires in Fresno County. HRRR smoke indicates more hazy conditions will occur throughout southern Nevada. High temperatures will continue to run several degrees above normal. While drier air will allow for `cooler` overnight lows. .LONG TERM...Saturday through Wednesday. High pressure ridge will rebuild across the southern US over the weekend with lingering weak troughing across the PacNW states. This will leave our region on the western edge of the broad high pressure ridge and within a weak south-southwesterly flow aloft. This will result in continued hot conditions through the weekend with afternoon breezes. As far as precipitation potential goes, we will have to watch for increasing monsoonal moisture in this pattern, particularly across Northwest Arizona, where precipitable water anomalies climb above 150% by Sunday afternoon, though for now PoPs remain fairly modest with uncertainty in the quality and timing of the moisture. The flow pattern will change little heading into next week with at least low grade monsoonal moisture remaining focused into Arizona, with hot and increasingly dry conditions likely further west.
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&& .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Breezy southwesterly winds will continue into the morning hours with occasional 15 to 20 knot wind gusts. Winds will continue to maintain their southwesterly direction, but will begin increasing in magnitude throughout the morning and afternoon with wind gusts around 25 knots expected this afternoon. Wind gusts will continue into the evening hours before gradually decreasing during the overnight hours. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...KHND and KVGT will see southwesterly winds increase throughout the morning into the afternoon, with 25 to 30 knot wind gusts expected during the afternoon and evening hours. Winds at KBIH will favor a northwesterly direction through mid-afternoon when winds will swing to a more westerly direction before shifting back to the northwest during the evening hours. KDAG will favor a westerly direction with 15 to 20 knot sustained winds and 25 to 30 knot wind gusts into the evening hours. The Colorado River Valley TAF sites will see breezy southerly winds increase with 20 to 25 knot wind gusts picking up later this morning and continuing through the afternoon. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && $$ UPDATE...Soulat SHORT TERM...Pierce LONG TERM...Outler AVIATION...Stessman For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter