Excessive heat warning for Labor Day weekend in Las Vegas

The exceptionally hot and dry August weather will continue Labor Day weekend with an excessive heat warning in effect until 9 p.m. Sunday for the Las Vegas, Pahrump and Moapa areas.

The warning — originally slated to expire Saturday night — was extended, National Weather Service meteorologist Caleb Steele said.

The temperature reached 109 degrees on Saturday, the weather service said. Sunday should see a high of 108.

This month broke the record for number of days in August with temperatures at or above 105. There were 24 days this the month that met the threshold, besting 23 days in 1969, meteorologist John Salmen said.

The typical Las Vegas monsoon weather was absent this month, and it was the seventh driest August since the weather service started keeping records in 1937, Salmen said.

“We only had a trace at the airport this month, and there were 12 other times where we had either a trace or no precipitation at all,” he said. “Not rare, but certainly it was dry.”

In the lower Colorado River Valley, highs are expected to reach 110 to 115 degrees through Sunday, while highs of 117 to 120 are forecast for Death Valley National Park.

“Holiday travelers are urged to pack extra water before venturing across the deserts,” the weather service said in its excessive heat warning.

Afternoon winds, with gusts of 15-20 miles per hour, are expected through Monday, Steele said.

But relief is on the way. A high temperature of 104 is expected Monday in Las Vegas, followed by highs of 103 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a high of 101 on Thursday.

There is a 20 percent chance for afternoon thunderstorms Monday, followed by a 10 percent chance Tuesday and Wednesday, and a 20 percent chance again on Thursday.

“We’re going to have a pretty good increase in clouds too, not this day after day of hot and sunny,” Salmen said.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter. Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.