Get ready for cold weather on New Year’s Eve

When fireworks boom from atop seven hotels to ring in the new year on Las Vegas Boulevard, it is expected to be colder than in New York City when the giant ball drops.

The temperature at midnight is expected to be 38 degrees in Las Vegas compared with 40 degrees in New York, according to the National Weather Service.

The Las Vegas fireworks show will be the largest in the nation, according to Phil Grucci, president and creative director of Fireworks by Grucci. It is among the 10 biggest such displays in the world, he said.

The Strip's firework show will have over 80,000 explosive devices controlled by 14 computer systems and will last eight minutes. The soundtrack that accompanies the spectacle has a song that pays tribute to each of the seven hotels participating in the show, Grucci said.

If you're one of the 300,000 partygoers headed to the Strip or plan to find a spot outdoors to watch the fireworks to welcome 2016, make sure you bundle up.

But don't rely on alcohol to keep you warm. The myth of a Saint Bernard saving a freezing traveler with a barrel of brandy around its neck sparked the common misconception that alcohol warms you up. According to modern medicine, and MythBusters, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Drinking alcohol "causes your blood vessels to dilate, moving warm blood closer to the surface of your skin, making you feel warmer temporarily," the popular TV show explains. "Those same veins pumping blood closer to the skin's surface cause you to lose core body heat — the heat you need to survive. This effect could lead to fatal hypothermia."

Along with the cold, revelers are expected to face some heavy smoke from the fireworks on the Strip and throughout the valley. A smoke advisory was issued by the Clark County Department of Air Quality on Wednesday.

Thursday will will have a high of 50 degrees and low of 30, National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Pullin said.

New Year's Day is expected to be chilly, with a high of 47 and low in the low 30s. There is no chance of rain until early next week, Pullin said.

These temperatures, below the average high of 56 degrees and average low of 38 degrees, are expected to stay below average into 2016.

Contact Lawren Linehan at llinehan@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lawrenlinehan