Vegas experiencing cold rain before end-of-week warmth
If you find rainfall to be pleasant and live anywhere in Clark County, chances are you’re in luck Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service said. Precipitation paid a visit to most of the valley.
And it will likely continue through the night, accumulating up to a quarter inch of rain by the morning, and likely returning Monday afternoon, meteorologist Jim Harrison said. So, if you didn’t have enough reasons to look forward to Friday, here’s one more: It’s going to be sunny and warm.
Before then, the valley will see an array of showers, winds and temperatures in the mid- to upper 50s, meteorologist John Salmen said.
It wasn’t rain that was falling in the mountains.
The Spring Mountains and Sheep Range were under a winter weather advisory Sunday and were expecting to receive between 3 to 6 inches of snow above 5,000 feet overnight, Harrison said.
Snow plows were sent to state Route 158, Deer Creek Road, as accumulated snow closed traffic in both directions Sunday afternoon, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
The road, which connects Lee Canyon and Kyle Canyon roads near Mount Charleston, about 40 miles northwest of the Las Vegas valley, was shut down and there was no immediate estimate on when it would reopen, NHP trooper Chelsea Stuenkel said.
Sunday’s scattered showers were caused by a low pressure system from the California coast that rotated south toward Las Vegas, the weather service said.
On Monday, the high temperature, about 56 degrees, will be accompanied by winds between 15 and 20 mph. Nighttime lows should dip to 43 degrees, Salmen said.
Tuesday will likely see slightly slower gusts, 10 to 15 miles per hour, and high temps nearing 58 degrees. Weather models forecast partly cloudy skies until about midday Tuesday, when clouds should begin to move out of the valley. Low temperatures should be about 41 degrees Tuesday night, the weather service said.
Windy conditions are expected to stick around through Wednesday, Salmen said. Winds between 10 and 15 mph will join high temperatures about 59 degrees and clear skies. Wednesday night’s low temps will be about 41 degrees.
Winds should lighten up by Thursday afternoon and high temperatures should jump to about 64 degrees, Salmen said. Low temps are expected to drop to 39 degrees at night.
And for the finale, Friday — glorious Friday — should see high temps about 69 degrees, with clear skies. Las Vegas can expect lots of sunshine to end the week.
“It should be a pleasant day,” Salmen said.
The next chance for clouds will be heading into next weekend, but weather models don’t show a heavy presence, Salmen said.
For up-to-the-minute weather conditions, visit www.weather.gov.
Review-Journal writer Ricardo Torres contributed to this story.
Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber.