Forecast: Las Vegas’ springlike weather to last until Monday night

Warm temperatures and clear skies are expected to reach into Sunday and Monday in Las Vegas, with highs in the low 80s, above normal for this time of year.

But a cold front is expected to hit Monday night, dropping high temperatures to the mid-70s on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, said Ryan Metzger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.

“Sinking air is always a good thing,” Metzger said, noting that’s what’s happening over the Southwest. “It’s an indication that the weather is going to be nice, and dry, and warm.”

Metzger couldn’t predict when Las Vegas’ famous sizzling spring temperatures are expected to hit the area but everybody knows you only need to stick around for 24 hours and weather can change in the desert.

Last year on March 15, for example, a record high was set at 87 degrees, a far cry from the record low on the same day in 1962, which came in at a freezing 26 degrees. Saturday’s high was expected to be 79, he said.

Metzger said the valley hasn’t hit a record low this time of year since the 1990s. The record low for March 16, for example, was set in 1991 at 31 degrees. The record high was set on March 16, 2007 — 89 degrees.

A wind advisory was in effect all day Saturday on Lake Mead as 40 mph winds blew in. But the heavy winds did little to keep sailboats out of the water, said Jon Zander, a ranger with the Lake Mead National Recreational Area.

“Sailboats are always popular this time of year,” he said.

Contact reporter Tom Ragan at tragan@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.