Las Vegas sees cooler, wetter March than normal
After a dry February, the Las Vegas weather did an about-face in March: cooler and wetter.
The National Weather Service, in a tweet, said March 2021 was chillier and wetter than a normal March. It said the average temperature was 57.5 degrees (2.4 degrees below normal), with precipitation at 0.63 inches (0.19 inches above normal). The official recording station is at McCarran International Airport.
The agency said the warmest day was March 29 (85 degrees) and the coldest day on March 1 (37 degrees).
“Finally a month with above normal precipitation, the first one in since last April!”, the agency tweeted.
The March review is in! 🗞️ Finally a month with above normal precipitation, the first one in since last April! 🏜️ #VegasWeather pic.twitter.com/faz128sczx
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) April 1, 2021
In February, the airport only registered 0.01 inches of precipitation, the 11th driest February in the area’s history, with records going back to 1937.
🗓️🏜️February (normally one of our wetter months) only measured 0.01" of precipitation at McCarran leaving it the 11th driest February on record. Records go back to 1937. #nvwx #vegasweather pic.twitter.com/fCiLrn3a13
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) March 1, 2021
Summer outlook
The summer of 2020 was a record-breaker in terms of drought in the Las Vegas Valley. This summer could be different, the weather service said.
In a tweet, forecasters said the official summer outlook calls for “equal chances for a below, near normal, or above normal precipitation across areas north and west of Las Vegas. Slightly better odds of wetter conditions exist south and east of LV, particularly in Arizona.”
The official outlook calls for equal chances for a below, near normal, or above normal precipitation across areas north and west of Las Vegas. Slightly better odds of wetter conditions exist south and east of LV, particularly in Arizona.
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) April 1, 2021
Weekend forecast
Residents and visitors will get their chance to feel a taste of Las Vegas summer heat this weekend as the mercury is expected to top 90.
Friday may see 87 degrees, according to the NWS forecast.
A high of 90 expected on Saturday would be 1 degree below the record for April 3 set in 1961. The Sunday high is expected to be around 91.
Skies each day will be sunny with low winds.
“We’ve got no issues other than the heat,” said weather service meteorologist Andy Gorelow.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.
