Weather in Las Vegas

We don’t often think of a desert climate as having much variety during the year, but Las Vegas has four distinct seasons even if they are not as well-defined as of Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall in the Eastern and Midwestern United States.

The tracking of the city’s weather officially began at Nellis Air Force Base in 1937. In 1948, the Las Vegas National Weather Service moved its operation to McCarran International Airport (aka McCarran Field), which is located 7 miles to the south of downtown Las Vegas. From this service we find many interesting and fun facts about the weather in Las Vegas.

The city lies in a broad desert valley, called the Las Vegas Valley, surrounded by several mountain ranges that reach from 2,000 to nearly 12,000 feet (Mt. Charleston of the Spring Mountain Range) above the valley floor. The valley covers approximately 600 square miles and has a subtropical desert climate with an abundance of year-round sunshine that is typical of this Great Basin Desert area.

The city experiences on average approximately three-hundred days of sunshine each year, accumulating in greater than 3,800 hours of hot desert glow. Still, there are a few weather systems that occur throughout the year that at times cause somewhat of an unpredictable climate.

Monsoon systems coming out of the south influence the weather in the summer months, typically bringing lower temperatures and increased rainfall. The jet stream out of California influences the weather at other times of the year bringing with it wind, rain, and colder temperatures.

The most provoking weather hazard experienced here are strong winds. Winds greater than 50 mph are few, but they can emerge with the more robust storms, producing extensive areas of gusting sand and dust. Strong winds occurring during the summer months usually coincide with thunderstorms, and are more isolated incidents.

June thru September is extremely hot and arid with high temperatures ranging from 94 to 104 °F during the day and lows ranging between 69 to 78 °F at night. The hottest months are in July and August with temperatures often exceeding the average.

The heat is somewhat tempered by very low levels of humidity, which often fall below 10%. Although, due to the mid-summer monsoon air flowing up from Mexico, relative humidity is known to markedly rise for several weeks each summer between July and August.

During this time, the area is known to see some spectacular desert thunderstorms, which are frequently accompanied by flash flooding and strong winds.

Winters in Las Vegas are usually quite temperate and pleasant with clear skies and highs around 60 °F during the day and lows around 40 °F at night. Temperatures can drop to or below freezing, but even nighttime winter temperatures rarely fall to that level.

Although the surrounding mountain ranges of Sierra Nevada and Spring Mountain commonly accumulate between 5 to 10 feet of snow annually, in the Las Vegas Valley snow is rare. Flurries descend upon the city a couple of times each winter, but with no significant accumulation. Yet, about every 4 to 5 years, the city sees an inch or more of snowfall.

Yearly precipitation is approximately 4.5 inches occurring on average 29 days a year, with most of it falling in winter months.

Occasionally, Pacific storms generate rainfall in Las Vegas, but the city has a natural barrier in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California and the Spring Mountains immediately west of the Las Vegas Valley.

Spring and Fall are considered ideal seasons here with plenty of sun and temperatures ranging from 55 to 68 °F.

Hundreds of thousands of people visit Las Vegas each year. In fact, it is the most visited destination in the United States, other than Orlando, Florida. Visitors come year-round because of it typical warm, dry climate, and of course the excitement of the Vegas Strip.

If you are planning a trip to Vegas, check out our charts for your ideal time to go, based on the average historical temperature, precipitation, or even a holiday.

Fun Facts about the Weather in Las Vegas:

• Between February 22,1959 and July 21,1959, Las Vegas had 150 consecutive days without measurable precipitation. In second place was the very dry stretch that occurred between September 22,1999 and February 9, 2000 when the city had 140 days without measurable precipitation.
• In January the average snowfall is .1 inches and in December it’s .2. Beginning in February of 1996, McCarran International Airport no longer officially records the measurements of snowfall and snow depth.
• While June is the driest month it has just 2.9 fewer days of precipitation compared to the dampest month of March.
• July is the hottest month with temperatures sometimes shooting upwards to 105 °F.
• Using a 30 year average, Las Vegas sees around 24 days a year with low temperatures at or dipping below 32 °F.
• On average there are 133 days with temperatures over 90 °F and 72 days over 100 °F.