Las Vegas Valley should brace for windy, chilly New Year’s Eve

After a mild, mostly sunny Sunday afternoon, Las Vegas Valley-dwellers should brace for a cold front and gusty winds to start the new year, according to the National Weather Service.

Just in time for New Year’s Eve, a weak weather system is expected to move through the valley, meteorologist Ashley Wolf said.

The system will be fairly dry, but Wolf said the “real weather” will be the winds and cold air that move in behind the system.

On New Year’s Eve, the weather service forecasts clear skies with a high temperature of 49 degrees and a low of 31 overnight. Winds starting Monday afternoon are expected to gust up to 25 mph.

At midnight, sustained 10 mph winds could potentially affect the scheduled fireworks display on the Strip.

New Year’s Day is expected to be even colder, with temperatures climbing to a cool 47 degrees in the afternoon, and temperatures overnight dipping to 29, according to the weather service. The same wind speeds are expected to stick around until at least Tuesday night.

Temperatures will start to warm up again Wednesday, when the weather service forecasts an afternoon high of 50. Winds will died down Wednesday afternoon before the overnight temperature drops to 34, Wolf said.

Thursday and Friday should be sunny, with temperatures reaching 57 and 60, respectively, and overnight lows near 40, Wolf said. Conditions will be dry with lighter winds than earlier in the week.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com. Follow @lauxkimber on Twitter.