Las Vegas stays cool in August, thanks to monsoon storms
It was only two years ago that Las Vegas was battling record heat. Remember that record 240 day dry streak that didn’t end until December?
That was so 2020.
This is 2022 and the summer monsoon season has returned in full force after going missing for the last several years. And that has made for a cooler-than-normal August so far.
The valley has recorded only six days of triple-digit temperatures this month, the National Weather Service said in a tweet Wednesday. The agency said the August record for fewest number of 100 degree days is 14, set in 1968, 1983 and 1984.
A seventh day was added Wednesday when Harry Reid International Airport reached 104 at 3:50 p.m.
Las Vegas, NV has only had 5 days of 100° or higher in August. This is the lowest total on record through the first 15 days of August. The August record for fewest number of 100° days is 17 set in 1968, 1983, and 1984. #nvwx #vegasweather #monsoon2022
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 16, 2022
Strangely, the opposite is happening in Salt Lake City. On Tuesday, the weather service’s office in Utah’s capital said the city reached 100 degrees for the 22nd time in 2022. That mark breaks the all-time record for most 100 degree days in a year at Salt Lake City International Airport.
It's a hot one. Tipping the scales at 100F for the day, KSLC checks in with a total of 22 days with triple digit temperatures for the year, exceeding the prior record of 21 days +tying the daily record high. Temperatures expected to hover in the upper 90s the next few days. #utwx pic.twitter.com/pEfRB0bjAX
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) August 16, 2022
Monsoon summer
More than two weeks into the valley’s wettest monsoon in a decade, the daily rain possibility continues this week. Parts of the valley and the Spring Mountains saw storms Monday night.
The monsoon season has hit Death Valley hard this summer. The national park in eastern California is the driest place in North America. Most roads in the desert park have been closed since runoff from thunderstorms on Aug. 5 wiped out major sections of roadways or covered them with debris.