[Buzz123]

People back east are always saying to me, "Yeah, but it's cold at night isn't it?" I usually tell them, yes it sometimes drops below 100º. I remember playing in a softball marathon downtown and watching the thermometer on the Mint all night. It never went below 100º until just about sunup. The Mint and the Sahara had the most prominent thermometers. We used to say that the Chamber of Commerce regulated them and it was actually 10º hotter.

Johnny Carson, in his stand up act at the Sahara, had a joke about it. He said, "I called for time and temp and she said it was 145 and 110. So I had to ask which was the time and which was the temp."

It does seem hotter now and it's harder on people than it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I was beginning to think it was because I was older that it affected me more until I started hearing all these young people complain about it too. I'm not sure the humidity is actually a lot higher. It probably is sometimes but not by much. We had a few days last summer when it was 2%. I think it has more to do with the bad air keeping heat in like a blanket and way more asphalt to reflect the heat. You used to drive around Vegas and a lot more of it was desert than cement. I believe the soil then would absorb some of the heat, but now there is no soil left, just asphalt and buildings. You could probably drive out into the desert on a hot day and it would feel like it was cooler. I know when I go to Floyd Lamb Park it seems cooler. Might be because of all the shade trees and the water...I don't know.

The official temp is taken at airports due to the way heat affects lift. They have to be precise on the allowed weight of airplanes. I asked a couple of TV weather people why, since heat rises and cold air sinks, in summer the lower areas of town are so much hotter, and in winter those same areas are a lot colder than the "official" temps. The answer was so complicated I gave up trying to understand it; but it is true. You will find the east side of the Valley might be 120º sometimes when the weather folks on TV are reporting 115 or less. That same area might be below freezing in winter when even the higher elevations up here in the northwest are above freezing.

[chi166]

Heat fatigue sets in about early September for me. After four plus months of 100+. I've had enough. It still doesn't feel really bad until about 110. However, it's really nice on most nights after sunset.

The hottest spot in the valley is probably Henderson/Sam Boyd Stadium area.

Another thing about cars. Get your windows tinted. There's nothing worse than burning your hands on the wheel.

[olecapt]

Here is the actually data...

Average High/Low Temperatures for KLAS : Weather Underground

You can see the record high and low, average high and low and last year.

This is for McCarran. Nellis is a few hundred feet lower and perhaps a degree hotter. kTemperature drops with altitude. No if ands or buts. It is however possible for local climate conditions to be modifed by the surround. It is hotter if you are in an area with lots of exposed asphalt. Roads are hotter than parks. Measuring temperature is an area requiring speciialized equipment and skills. It is done in specialized enclosures which prevent solar heating of the sensor. Most signs etc. are in significant error and read high.

Las Vegas has about a 25 degree differentential. Start falling in the late afternoon and continues until just after sunup. On a very hot 110 day it will reach 100 around dark or just thereafter.

If it was a bad as some of you make it out nobody would live in Phoenix...which is about 5 degrees warmer.

[Buzz123]

It's not unlivable by any means. I think the point is that although the numbers are the same as always, the perception of many of us that have lived here most of our lives is that it feels hotter for some reason. At least that is what I feel, and everyone I talk to says the same thing. I still say it is because of lack of heat absorbing bare desert, more concrete, and the quality of the air cover. The desert is already like living in a bowl with a lid on it, as that is what makes it a desert. But make the air worse, add miles and miles of heat reflecting cement, and it just has to feel worse. And 2 million residents, 40 million visitors, and a zillion cars, can't be making the air quality better than it was when we only had 180,000 people and fewer visitors, with no one living west of Rainbow Road, north of Craig, east of Nellis, or south of Sunset.