318 FXUS65 KVEF 080432 AFDVEF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 932 PM PDT Mon Apr 7 2025 .SYNOPSIS...Temperatures across the region will climb above normal today with the warming trend continuing through midweek. Dry conditions will prevail as well thanks to the ridge of high pressure building over the Western US. Winds will pick up across the western Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin today with lighter winds returning on Tuesday and Wednesday. && .UPDATE...High clouds continue to drift over the area as a trough moves through the Pacific Northwest. The strongest wind gusts observed today were around 30 mph in the Western Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin. Most gusts in the Las Vegas Valley were between 15 and 25 mph. Winds should decrease through the night. Overnight lows will be 5 to 10 degrees above average for this time of year, which means lows in the low 60s for Las Vegas. && .DISCUSSION...through next Monday. Current satellite imagery shows a shortwave trough pushing into the Pacific Northwest. As this shortwave moves through the Pacific Northwest we will see breezy southwesterly winds pick up this afternoon and evening. Outside of these breezes, high clouds filtering through the region will be the only other evidence of this shortwave. Even with this shortwave passing through to our north and flattening the upper-level ridge, we will still see warmer than normal temperatures across the region today. Out upper-level ridge will rebound through the end of the week, allowing for our warming trend to continue with temperatures warming to 10+ degrees above normal by Wednesday and 15+ degrees above normal by Friday. As we see these temperatures increase, we will also see HeatRisk return to the region with Minor HeatRisk (Level 1 of 4) across most of our forecast area and Moderate HeatRisk (Level 2 of 4) in Death Valley, the Colorado River Valley, and lower elevations/valleys of southern San Bernardino County. Moderate HeatRisk will affect those without adequate access to cooling or hydration as well as those who have not had the chance to acclimate to these temperatures. As such, make sure you stay hydrated and protect yourself from the sun if you have outdoor plans during the second half of the week. Our warming trend will come to an end on Saturday with temperatures cooling a few degrees as a trough approaches the West Coast, displacing the ridge off to our east. Uncertainty persists regarding the speed at which this trough will move through the region and how strong it will be when it does. However, it (uncertainty) is slowly decreasing as the ECMWF ensemble mean and its GFS counterpart are beginning to converge on a common solution. Right now both mean solutions have a shortwave trough moving through the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin over the weekend. Southwesterly winds will pick up across the region as this system approaches the region on Friday, with winds remaining elevated through the weekend. In addition to winds, we will also see temperatures cooling a few degrees each day over the weekend and into next week. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...For the 06Z Forecast Package...South southwest winds overnight should become light Tuesday morning. The potential problem will come Tuesday afternoon, when there could be a couple of hours of southeast winds before south southwest winds return later in the afternoon with gusts of 15 to 20 knots until sunset. No operationally significant clouds or weather expected. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...For the 06Z Forecast Package...Overnight, westerly winds gusting 20 to 25 knots will continue in the Barstow area, with lighter winds elsewhere. On Tuesday, expect south to southwest winds gusting 20 to 25 knots in the Colorado River Valley and central Mohave County, with lighter winds elsewhere. No operationally significant clouds or weather expected. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && $$ UPDATE...Meltzer DISCUSSION...Stessman AVIATION...Morgan For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter