Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Las Vegas, NV
Issued by NWS Las Vegas, NV
357 FXUS65 KVEF 172113 AFDVEF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 110 PM PST Fri Jan 17 2025 .SYNOPSIS...A dry, northwesterly flow pattern persists for the foreseeable future, keeping temperatures near or below normal and inducing periods of gusty north winds. Strongest winds expected in the lower Colorado River Valley, where minor impacts are possible on Monday. && .SHORT TERM...through Sunday. A weak shortwave sliding south through the Rocky Mountain states has brought some increasing surface pressure gradients and in turn brought some gusty winds to Esmeralda and central Nye counties. Winds have generally been gusting between 20 and 30 mph which will remain into this evening before diminishing, although some of the higher elevations will remain gusty overnight. As this trough pushes east Saturday, surface gradients will increase across Clark, Mohave, Lincoln, and eastern San Bernardino counties. Locally breezy conditions are expected with most areas seeing winds 10 to 20 mph with a few gusts to 25 mph. As typical with these type of trough patterns, northerly winds will become gusty down the Colorado River Valley. While winds will remain below any advisory levels, north gusts 20 to 30 mph will be possible across the area lakes and possibly over 35 mph south of Davis Dam. Winds Sunday will be much lighter across the area as gradients relax. Temperatures will remain near to slightly above normal through the weekend. .LONG TERM...Monday through Friday. The persistent cool and dry pattern with north winds will be reinforced again early next week as an unusually broad and cold trough envelopes almost the entire CONUS. The majority of the cold air mass will be east of the Rockies, but a shot of cold air is forecast to drop down between an amplified West Coast ridge and the back side of the aforementioned trough...just brushing southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. The coldest morning still looks to be Tuesday and the probabilities of freezing for some areas that have not reached 32 degrees are looking better. Although some part of the Las Vegas Valley have already reached freezing, there is now a 50% chance of seeing 32 degrees at Harry Reid, and a 50% chance of seeing 28 degrees or lower in Henderson. That means that some of the colder parts of town could drop into the low to mid 20s. We will need to consider for the potential of a Freeze Watch if guidance continues the trend of colder temperatures. Lows at or below 32 degrees are still forecast Tuesday morning for most other sites except the lower Colorado River Valley and Death Valley. Brisk north winds will accompany the colder temps and gusts over 40 mph will be likely Monday in the usual Laughlin-Bullhead City channel. Temperatures will climb back to normal the second half of the week as the West Coast ridge moves inland while keep our region dry. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...Light winds of less than 8 knots will continue through Saturday afternoon. Wind directions will favor the normal diurnal direction patterns, with northeast winds during the day and southwest-to-west winds at night. Besides a few high clouds with bases AOA 20kft AGL late tonight and Saturday, no significant cloud cover is expected through the TAF period. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...The Las Vegas area TAFs will be similar to what is discussed for Harry Reid above. TAF sites in the lower Colorado River Valley will see light winds of less than 12 knots through tonight before increasing by Saturday afternoon to 15 to 25 knots. At KBIH, light northerly winds of less than 10 knots will continue through Saturday. Winds at KDAG will be gusty out of the west into this evening before gradually diminishing overnight and remaining less than 10 knots on Saturday. Other than a few high clouds with bases AOA 20kft AGL across southern Nevada and northwest Arizona on Saturday, no significant cloud cover is forecast through the TAF period. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && $$ SHORT TERM...Gorelow LONG TERM...Adair/Gorelow AVIATION...Planz For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter