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1 more day of Las Vegas heat before winds, 30-degree plunge arrive

Updated September 7, 2020 - 7:15 pm

The Las Vegas Valley had one last day of triple-digit heat Monday before a storm front is expected to drop temperatures by 20 to 30 degrees overnight.

After a high of 114 degrees on Sunday that set the all-time highest September temperature in Las Vegas history, the National Weather Service said Monday only reached 106, two degrees below the record of 108, set in 1955.

Tuesday’s forecast high is 85. Winds from the north and northeast are expected to stay around 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, according to the weather service.

Forecast highs for the rest of the week are 81 on Wednesday, 87 on Thursday, 94 on Friday and 99 on Saturday. Temperatures should return to triple digits by Sunday.

Smoke, ozone advisory issued

Because of wildfires and winds coming from the west, there was a lot of haze and smoke in the sky on Monday, which Meteorologist Caleb Steele said dropped the high temperature a few degrees below what was forecast. But he said Tuesday’s winds will likely blow most of the smoke to the south.

“The winds will likely push most of this smoke system out of town on Tuesday,” Steele said. “But with wildfires expected in Utah and Colorado, the northeast winds could, unfortunately, bring more smoke in later this week.”

Early Monday, Clark County issued a smoke and ozone advisory for the day because of the elevated levels.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, people who may be most sensitive to elevated levels of particulates and ozone include individuals with respiratory problems, cardiac disease, young children or senior citizens.

Cold air mass

A gigantic cold air mass moving south from Canada is the reason for the sharp temperature drop this week. The cold air is expected to bring snow to Colorado where highs are expected to drop from the low 90s to the mid-30s from Monday to Wednesday.

With the cooler air comes very windy conditions. Red flag warnings are already in place for Lincoln and Esmeralda counties as well as southern Nye County, meteorologist Jenn Varian said. The warnings of increased fire danger will cover the entire region by Tuesday.

“There are wind advisories for the majority of the area, especially the Colorado River Valley where we may see waves on the river of 3 to 4 feet,” Varian said.

Cooling stations

Additional day shelters will be open at the following locations:

— Courtyard Homeless Resource Center, 1401 Las Vegas Blvd. North, open 24 hours.

— Downtown Recreation Center, 105 W. Basic Road, open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

— Cambridge Recreation Center, 3930 Cambridge St., open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday.

— Share Village Las Vegas, 50 N. 21st St., open daily 8 a.m.- 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.-12 p.m. for hydration only.

— American Legion, 1510 Bruce Woodbury Drive, Laughlin, open on days with temperatures over 112 degrees from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. There is also an outside cooling station for pets on leashes.

— Colorado River Food Bank, 240 Laughlin Civic Drive, Laughlin, open 8 a.m.-2:45 p.m. Friday.

— The Salvation Army Mesquite, 742 Pioneer Blvd., Mesquite, open 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Friday.

— The Salvation Army at 35 W. Owens Ave. is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. every day through Sept. 30 as a daytime shelter.

— The Shade Tree at 1 W. Owens Ave. is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. every day through Sept. 30 as a daytime shelter for women and children.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Alexis Ford contributed to this report.

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