Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Las Vegas, NV
Issued by NWS Las Vegas, NV
686 FXUS65 KVEF 060142 AFDVEF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 642 PM PDT Sun May 5 2024 .SYNOPSIS...Winds will decrease tonight along with rebounding temperatures Monday and Tuesday before another upper low drops into the region and brings gusty north winds and a quick cooldown by Wednesday. Temperatures will remain a little below normal through Friday then a ridge of high pressure and a warming trend will build in over the weekend. && .UPDATE...After a blustery weekend, winds are decreasing across the area as a cold front exits to the east. Localized gusty winds may remain on high terrain this evening, but besides that lighter winds are expected to remain in place until at least Wednesday. High temperatures today were between 10 and 20 degrees below normal for early May. In fact, today`s highs were closer to the averages for early to mid March. Tonight`s lows will also be around 10 to 20 degrees below normal for this time of year. && .SHORT TERM...Through Tuesday night. Northwest winds behind the cold front pushing through southern Nevada were producing gusts 40 to 50 mph across the Las Vegas Valley, but these speeds will be brief and a decreasing trend will develop between 3 and 5 pm PDT. A band of showers extending from around Pahrump and Death Valley Junction across the Spring Mountains into Lincoln County will also dissipate between 3 and 5 pm PDT as the front pulls away across Southwest Utah and Northwest Arizona. Wind speeds will drop off to between 5 and 15 mph after sunset across most of the region leading to a cool night with lows in the lower 40s to lower 50s across the Mojave Desert zones. Fairly light winds and temperatures rebounding around 10 degrees can be expected across the region Monday under a light northwest flow in the wake of the large upper low lifting across the Rockies into the Northern Plains. Model ensembles show a shortwave sliding from the Pacific Northwest across northeast Nevada into Utah Tuesday which will produce gusty north winds working their way down through our region late Tuesday night. .LONG TERM...Wednesday through Sunday. The latest model ensembles indicate Wednesday will be a fairly windy day as north winds 20 to 25 mph develop across in response to a strong shortwave sliding down the back side of the large upper low centered over the Northern Plains. Gusts over 40 mph will be likely along the Colorado River Valley and temperatures will drop 6-8 degrees from Tuesday`s highs. This shortwave will cause the upper low to retrograde over the Great Basin and linger through Friday... keeping temperatures below normal. A ridge along the West Coast is then forecast to move inland over the weekend with temperatures climbing to between 90 and 100 degrees across the desert zones. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Gusty northwesterly winds behind a cold front passing through the Las Vegas Valley will continue through the afternoon. Gusts over 40kt are likely as the front passes. Following the front, winds will remain northwesterly and gradually decrease through the evening hours. Wind will become more westerly during the late evening below 10kt until around 15Z Monday when northerly wind resumes. Periods of light and variable wind are possible during the early morning hours. No significant clouds are expected with clear skies to start the day and a few high clouds moving in later Monday. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...Most of the area will see diminishing winds this evening after the cold front passes through. Northwesterly wind of 20-30kt gusting to over 40kt at times will follow the front. During the late evening hours, gusty winds will diminish, leaving wind less than 10kt at most TAF sites overnight. Mostly clear skies will give way to high clouds AOA 20kft during the afternoon hours Monday. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && $$ UPDATE...Meltzer SHORT TERM/LONG TERM...Adair AVIATION...Berc For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter