Valley’s case of chills sets records

Fall made its presence known in Las Vegas this weekend with back-to-back temperature records and with temperature drops not seen in 30 years.

After last week's highs of around 90 degrees, the National Weather Service reported a 30-degree decline in two days.

High temperatures dropped to 60 and 62 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, which were record low-highs for the dates for the weather service's official monitoring site at McCarran International Airport, meteorologist Andrew Gorelow said.

Drops that drastic in such a short time frame haven't been reported in the Las Vegas Valley in 30 years, he said.

"That's pretty unusual," Gorelow said.

The cooler temperatures brought out more than sweaters and blankets over the weekend. Snow pellets, which the weather service describes as soft hail, fell in western parts of the valley and Mount Charleston got its first significant snowfall of the season.

The low pressure system that brought the chilly temperatures is expected to lift by midweek and be replaced by 80-degree days by Thursday.

In Reno, temperatures hit a high of only 39 degrees Friday, shattering a low-high record set in the 1920s, according to meteorologist Brian O'Hara.

Monday's temperatures in Southern Nevada didn't join the trend, but did flirt with a record. The record low-high temperature of 66 degrees, set in 1981, was slightly surpassed in Las Vegas. At 4:30 p.m., the temperature reached 67 degrees.

The record high temperature for the date is 95 degrees, set in 1992.