Community · Valley-wide
Las Vegas Records Its Coldest October 13 as Tuesday's High Stalls at 64 Degrees, About 20 Below Normal
Tuesday's 64-degree high at Harry Reid International Airport broke a 1981 record for the date and was the coldest day since March, the National Weather Service said. Cooler weather is expected to last the week.
Listen to this brief · 4 min
Read aloud by an AI voice from the text below. Download MP3
What happened
Las Vegas had its coldest October 13 on record Tuesday as a cold front pushed daytime temperatures far below normal, according to the National Weather Service. The high at Harry Reid International Airport reached only 64 degrees, about 20 degrees below normal. Julie Phillipson, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Las Vegas, gave those figures to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The change came quickly. The Review-Journal reported that temperatures were in the 90s for most of last week. On Tuesday, the city did not get as high as 65 degrees.
How Tuesday compares with past records
A new low mark for the date
Phillipson said the previous record for the coldest October 13 in Las Vegas was 66 degrees, set in 1981. Tuesday's 64-degree high replaced that mark, according to the weather service.
Coldest day since early spring
The weather service also said Tuesday was the coldest day Las Vegas has seen since March 6. On that day, the temperature reached 65 degrees, the Review-Journal reported.
Still short of the October extreme
Tuesday did not come close to the coldest October daily high on record in Las Vegas. According to the Review-Journal, that record is 50 degrees, set on Oct. 29, 1971. The newspaper reported that the average daytime high for mid-October is in the low 80s.
Here are the key figures from the weather service and the Review-Journal:
- Tuesday's high at Harry Reid International Airport: 64 degrees, about 20 degrees below normal
- Previous record for the coldest October 13: 66 degrees in 1981
- Tuesday was the coldest day since March 6, when the temperature reached 65
- Coldest October daily high on record: 50 degrees on Oct. 29, 1971
- Average mid-October daytime high: low 80s
Mountain snow and storms after Rachel
Light snow in the Spring Mountains
Higher elevations got an early hint of winter. Light snow fell in the Spring Mountains and on Mount Charleston on Tuesday morning, the Review-Journal reported.
Thunderstorms in Henderson and the south valley
The cold day capped an unsettled few days. On Monday, the high at Reid was 73 degrees, and parts of Henderson and the south valley saw a few thunderstorms, according to the newspaper. That came one day after the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel soaked the valley.
For more on the weekend storm, see our earlier brief on how Rachel's remnants affected Las Vegas rainfall. Other local updates are collected in our community section.
What the rest of the week looks like
Temperatures are expected to recover somewhat but stay below normal. The forecast high for Wednesday bounces back to 73 degrees, the Review-Journal reported.
For the rest of the week, the newspaper reported that dry, calm conditions and cooler-than-normal temperatures are expected. Highs are forecast in the 70s and lows in the 50s.
What to watch next
- Wednesday's forecast high of 73 degrees, a rebound from Tuesday's record-setting 64, as reported by the Review-Journal.
- Dry, calm and cooler-than-normal conditions expected through the rest of this week, with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.
