Stuck at 118: Las Vegas’ 115-plus heat record reaches 6th straight day

Las Vegas endured its way to more heat records Thursday, reaching a high of 118 degrees for July 11 and logging its record sixth straight day with a reading of 115 or higher.

The National Weather Service’s official thermometer at Harry Reid International Airport reached 115 at 12:51 p.m. Despite a cloud cover at about 12,000 feet most of the afternoon, temperatures still reached 118 shortly before 4 p.m., surpassing a daily record of 116 that was set in 1959.

Thursday was the sixth straight day Las Vegas set a new daily high temperature record. The streak started Saturday with a 115 before the all-time record of 120 on Sunday, followed with 115, 119, 118 and 118.

Record streaks

Before the current heat spell, four days had been the record for consecutive days with highs of 115 or more. It was first set nearly 20 years ago, July 16-19, 2005, according to the weather service.

Thursday also marked the ninth straight day of highs of 110 or higher. A streak of 10 days has only happened twice since Las Vegas weather records began in 1937 — June 17-26, 1962, and last year, July 14-23.

Friday/weekend outlook

A high of 117 is predicted for Friday, which would surpass a record for the date of 114 last reached in 2003.

“We could get some outflow winds from northwest Arizona, but that would be around 7 to 10 p.m.,” said meteorologist John Adair. “It’s pretty much a slam dunk that we will reach another record daily high and the 10th day of 110 or more.”

Cooling stations across the region are scheduled to remain open through Friday.

The weather service’s excessive heat warning that has been in place for more than a week is set to expire at 11 p.m. Friday, but it could be extended, the weather service said, depending on a finalized forecast for Saturday.

A 20-30 percent chance of monsoonal conditions is forecast for Saturday, Adair said, with the south and southwest portions of the valley most likely to receive moisture or thunderstorms in the afternoon. Similar conditions are expected Sunday as well.

Heat issues

Calls to fire departments for heat-related issues have been higher than normal in recent weeks.

North Las Vegas reported 18 heat-related calls from July 1-9, compared with nine the same period a year ago.

Clark County reported 36 calls classified as heat exposure from July 1 to early July 11, a county spokeswoman said. Of those, 24 patients were transported to a hospital. In June, CCFD had 60 heat-related calls for the month with 34 transports.

“Heat also can be a factor in other types of calls such as those related to alcohol intoxication or when conditions like fainting, dizziness or nausea are reported,” Stephanie Wheatley stated in an email. “Most heat-related medical issues occur because people get overexposed to heat or over exercise for their age and physical condition.”

Henderson reported 66 heat-related incidents from May 1 through July 11. Of the 66, 43 patients were taken to a hospital for treatment.

The Las Vegas Fire Department reported 86 heat-related calls in the first 10 days of the month compared with 39 calls for the first 10 days of July 2023. The department handled 139 heat-related calls in June.

The airport had 290 delayed flights and just 11 cancellations as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, according to FlightAware.com.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com.