Dangerous heat continues to build across much of the West this week as an early-season heat wave grips the region.
LAS VEGAS – It was 25 years ago Tuesday that the low temperature in Las Vegas dropped to a relatively chilly 50 degrees. It smashed the record-low temperature of the day, which had been 54 degrees and stood since 1951.
While breaking a record-low temperature may not seem that unusual, it is an event 21st-century Las Vegas has yet to experience.
Las Vegas has not broken another record-low temperature since that June 4, 1999, day, according to the National Weather Service office there. It has tied just two record lows this century – April 15, 2009, and Aug. 3, 2014.
FILE – Satya Soviet Patnaik shields himself from the sun while waiting in line to take a photo at the historic Welcome to Las Vegas Sign during a heat wave in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 14, 2023.
(Ronda Churchill / AFP / Getty Images)
In fact, the low temperature has yet to drop to 50 degrees at any date in meteorological summer (June 1-Aug. 31) since that record was broken – and it hasn’t even been close. Since 2000, the coldest night during those dates has been 59 degrees, set on June 12, 2017. Every other low has been 60 degrees or warmer.
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On the other hand, half of the station’s current daily record-high temperatures across the entire year have been set since 2000. Weather observations have been kept at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport since 1948.
Forget record lows in Las Vegas anytime soon…
It is still record highs that are in the news in Las Vegas this early June as an intense early-season heat wave grips the Southwest.
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An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for the city this week as high temperatures climb to near or beyond 110 degrees. It could be the earliest 110-degree reading on record if it reaches there on Wednesday.
The average first day of 110-degree heat isn’t until July 1.