Below freezing temps await Las Vegas Valley on Halloween morning

Halloween week has been much colder than normal in the Las Vegas Valley, but higher temperatures are in the forecast.

A freeze warning was in effect overnight Wednesday until 10 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service said. Some parts of the valley could see temperatures around or below freezing.

It has only reached freezing at McCarran International Airport three times in October, the earliest being on Oct. 21, 1949.

Before dawn Thursday, the temperature at McCarran was expected to be 33, meteorologist Ashley Wolf said.

The low temperatures should disappear as the sun arrives, as Halloween is expected to reach a high of 62, almost 10 degrees warmer than Wednesday’s high, she said.

Wednesday was only one degree warmer than the record low of 52 degrees for Oct. 30, set in 1971.

Residents preparing for the freeze on Thursday morning are urged to take precautions with heating, pets, plants and pools.

“There’s a good chance that parts of the valley, especially the outskirts, will get below freezing,” Wolf said.

In 1971 — 48 years ago — a cold snap saw temperatures fall to 30, 26 and 30 on consecutive days from Oct. 29-31.

The National Weather Service says low temperatures fell to minus-4 on Wednesday in Ely and Eureka, 1 degree in Winnemuca and 2 in Elko.

Eureka set a record at minus-2 on Tuesday, breaking the mark for the date of 5, set in 1991. The low of 7 in Elko on Tuesday also broke the record of 8, set in 1917. Winnemucca tied the low of 7, set in 1970.

Trick-or-treaters on Halloween night should expect lows approaching the high 30s, the weather service said. But daytime temperatures are expected to continue to increase through the beginning of next week.

Friday’s high is expected to be near 70, followed by highs of 71 on Saturday, 74 on Sunday and 76 on Monday. Overnight lows will climb from the mid-40s on Friday to the upper 40s during the weekend, the weather service said.

“It will be back to normal or a few degrees above pretty much all next week,” said meteorologist John Adair.

The normal high temperature for this time of year is 74. The gusty winds that blew into the valley on Wednesday will also be gone during the rest of the week, as the weather service expects calm and sunny days.

“We’re done with the winds through at least the weekend,” Wolf said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Staff writer Marvin Clemons and The Associated Press contributed to this report.