NOTE: Some of the data on this page has not been verified and should be used with that in mind. It may and occasionally will, be wrong. The tide reports are by xtide and are NOT FOR NAVIGATION. Privacy and Cookie policy

FXUS65 KVEF 101900 AFDVEF

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 1100 AM PST Sun Dec 10 2023

SYNOPSIS
Partly to mostly cloudy skies expected through Tuesday morning as moisture moves through an upper-level ridge aloft.
Midweek, a trough will push through the southwestern United States, returning northerly wind gusts to the area. Otherwise, temperatures will remain above-average for mid-December through the forecast period.


DISCUSSION
Today through next Sunday.

Wind gusts have largely subsided across the Mojave Desert with the exception of Laughlin - Bullhead City, where very isolated wind gusts between 15 and 25 mph will continue through the afternoon.
Gust speeds will diminish through the afternoon as the development of an upper-level ridge loosens surface pressure gradients along the Colorado River Valley. Otherwise, the main story for today and tomorrow will be the abundant high clouds. Partly to mostly cloudy skies expected across the forecast area today, though thanks to height rises, temperatures will increase 8 to 10 degrees across the southern Great Basin and 2 to 4 degrees across the Mojave Desert today. The average high temperature for Las Vegas this time of year is 57 degrees; our forecast high today is 58. Cloud cover will help retain radiational heating overnight, with a forecast low temperature 3 to 5 degrees above average areawide (average for Las Vegas is 40; forecast low is 43).

The upper-level southeastern Pacific ridge will build through the day today, allowing temperatures to climb an additional 5 to 8 degrees to start the work week. This ridge will flatten through the day on Monday with the development of a longwave trough that will dig through the western United States. Latest 500mb ensemble means have this trough closing off earlier than previously expected, with a closed low forming over central Nevada Tuesday afternoon.

Minimal moisture is associated with this system, so impacts will largely be confined to northerly wind gusts along the Colorado River Valley on Wednesday as surface pressure gradients tighten. However, the ECMWF ensemble guidance shows a marginal increase of PWATs from about a quarter of an inch to between 0.30 and 0.40 inches, resulting in a 24-hour NBM probability of precipitation across the higher elevations of the southeastern Great Basin up to 10%.
Regardless, no precipitation-related impacts expected. Will continue to monitor the expected intensity of the wind gusts along the Colorado River Valley to determine if a wind-related headline will be needed. Regardless, expect waves on Lake Mohave between 2 and 3 feet at times.

Ridging will return for the latter half of the week into the weekend, allowing temperatures to sustain above-average values through the remainder of the forecast period.


AVIATION
For Harry Reid...Minimal impacts expected today for the Harry Reid terminal. Light E/NE winds this afternoon will shift to southwest at sunset. Winds below 8 kts expected throughout the next 30 hours. Increasing clouds aoa 15kft expected overnight.

For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...Minimal impacts expected today for KBIH/KVGT/KHND/KDAG.
KEED/KIFP will continue to see gusty northerly winds today but gradually subsiding through the course of the afternoon and evening.
Lingering minor gusts could persist through the early morning hours tomorrow, especially for KIFP. Increasing clouds area wide overnight aoa 15kft.


SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT
Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures.

toggle option: (graph/table)

Full Color Weather Map

Link to Loop


Other links: GEOS-West     Contential US     Full GOES-East

Las Vegas, NV,