Las Vegas sees hottest June temps on record

Las Vegas felt its hottest June on record, according to the National Weather Service.

Including Thursday’s high of 103, Vegas experienced both the highest average high temperatures and the highest average lows for the month of June, meteorologist Clay Morgan said.

The average high temperature was just over 105 degrees, and the average low temperature was about 81 degrees, Morgan said.

Besides being the hottest June recorded, the month also had five record high temperatures and seven record warm lows, Morgan said. The hottest day of the month was June 20, which saw a high of 115 degrees — two degrees short of the all-time high recorded in Las Vegas.

The previous record-holders for hottest Junes were 2015, 2013, and 2006, meteorologist Chris Outler said.

“A big factor for that (increase) is that there has been a lot of development and construction,” Outler said. In what is known as the urban heat island effect, daytime heat is absorbed by material such as asphalt and concrete, which does not easily dissipate at night and helps to raise average temperatures.

“All of these things absorb heat during the daytime, so the air mass near the city retains that heat at night,” Outler said. By keeping overnight lows relatively high, the urban heat island effect has increased the average temperatures in Las Vegas.

Although the Weather Service’s official monitoring station at McCarran International Airport is unlikely to see significant increases in the urban heat island effect because construction is limited in the area, Outler said continued expansion of the city will result in an increased area of influence for the urban heat island effect.

Outler said climate change also plays a role in the increased averages, such as increases in background global temperatures.

Although the National Weather Service only forecasts temperatures out to a week, Outler said July probably will be hotter than average based on the pattern of previous months.

“It’s too early to really say, but it’s tended to have been hotter,” Outler said.

Contact Christian Bertolaccini at cbertolaccini@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find @bertolaccinic on Twitter.