Say hello to 111: Early June heat wave breaks records in Las Vegas
Las Vegas officially reached its first 110-degree day of the year Thursday, tying a record for the earliest date in the year. Just over an hour later it reached 111.
The official measuring station at Harry Reid International Airport hit 110 at 2:11 p.m. The mercury reached 111 about 3:35 p.m.
The previous record high for June 6 was 110 in 2010.
It was the second record of the day. The morning low of 85 was the highest low temperature for June 6.
Several locations across the West were likely to set high temperature records Thursday, forecast to be the hottest day of the early summer heat wave. As a dome of high pressure sits over the entire West, Thursday was projected to be the hottest day of the week-long stretch.
Forecasts were largely on target.
As of 6 p.m., the official weather service sites showed a record high of 111 at Harry Reid International Airport.
In addition to the Las Vegas airport, four official sites set records:
— Kingman, Arizona, at 105, surpassing a 103 in 2013.
— Desert Rock near Mercury hit 107, topping a 105 in 1996.
— Needles, California, reached 115, passing a 114 in 2013.
— Death Valley hit 122, topping a 121 in 1996.
At unofficial sites, Overton showed a high of 114. Laughlin/Bullhead City Airport notched a 113. Henderson and Primm hit 111. Boulder City topped out at 109 while Pahrump had a 108. Red Rock Canyon climbed to 103 and Kyle Canyon was the cool spot at 88.
Major to Extreme HeatRisk will linger for portions of the area on Saturday. As such, the Excessive Heat Warning has been extended through Saturday for Death Valley, Southern Nye County, and portions of Clark County. 🥵#NVwx #CAwx #VegasWeather #DeathValleyWx pic.twitter.com/0exs5AqFNf
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) June 6, 2024
An excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service began at 10 a.m. Wednesday and runs through 9 p.m. Saturday. It covers all of the region except for the Spring Mountains.
A heat advisory for counties north of Clark County is also in place.
A few degrees lower Friday
“It’s pretty much more of the same, just 1 to 2 degrees cooler Friday and a few more (lower) on Saturday,” said weather service meteorologist Brian Planz of the weekend forecast. Las Vegas is forecast to reach a high of 109 on Friday, 107 on Saturday and 103 on Sunday and Monday before rising again.
The closest precipitation to Southern Nevada was a few light showers in Lincoln and Esmeralda counties, Planz said.
At least 9 to hospitals for heat
“Since midnight June 5 to 2:30 p.m. today, we’ve logged 12 calls classified as ‘heat exposure,’ with nine of them resulting in transports to local hospitals,” Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said in an email. “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.”
Clark County Fire Department units always carry water and ice and some may load up an extra ice chest in the hotter months, Welling said. On fire calls, an additional rehab unit is sent to the scene that carries extra supplies needed for personnel to rotate out of service more frequently due to the heat.
The number of heat calls from other fire department jurisdictions were not available.
Cooling stations open through Saturday
Cooling stations have been activated through Saturday.
Temperatures in some areas of the Las Vegas Valley are expected to hit 110 on Friday and 109 on Saturday. Clark County and community partners are opening cooling stations for the public during daytime hours on those days. A list of confirmed sites, including community centers and libraries, are now available and posted online at HelpHopeHome.org
The cooling centers are open to people experiencing homelessness and others in the community in need of cool, indoor spaces for respite from the heat.
More information on heat safety tips can be found at: www.snhd.info/BeatTheHeatSNV.
The weekend heat has forced at least one event indoors.
The city of Las Vegas will host a free farmers’ market at the Doolittle Active Adult Center, 1930 N. J St. on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be music, games and activities for children.
The event was originally scheduled for James Gay III Park, but due to the forecast for extreme temperatures, it will be held indoors at Doolittle.
Heat issues at Trump rally in Phoenix
The Phoenix Police Department said 11 people at a rally for Donald Trump were transported to hospitals after reports of heat exhaustion. It was 107 degrees outside when Trump started speaking at the town hall, where many of Trump’s supporters were unable to get inside before it reached capacity.
It was the Republican presidential candidate nominee’s first appearance in a battleground state since he was convicted in a hush money scandal, repeating his critiques of the case against him as politically motivated and calling for his conviction to be overturned on appeal.
Trump has a rally planned for Sunday at Sunset Park in Las Vegas. Temperatures are expected to reach around 105.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Previous versions of this story stated it was the earliest 110-degree day in Las Vegas weather history when in fact it tied the record for such.