Excessive heat warning for area

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for Southern Nevada Sunday and Monday.

An area of high pressure aloft is expected to build north from Mexico next week resulting in well above normal temperatures. High temperatures could likely approach excessive heat warning criteria on Sunday and Monday, which he National Weather Service says is a high temperature of 107 degrees in Las Vegas at McCarran International Airport. As a result, an excessive heat watch is in effect from late Sunday morning through Monday evening for elevations below 4,000 feet in the Mojave Desert.

The weather service estimates the high temperature in Pahrump will reach 105 degrees both Sunday and Monday. Death Valley is forecast to hit 119 degrees. The normal high for Pahrump Sunday would be 92 degrees, on Monday it would be 93 degrees. The record high temperatures for those days is 109 degrees and 107 degrees, both marks were set last year.

“Typically the first heat waves of the summer sometimes catch people off guard so we issue these advisories at a lower standard than we do later in the summer. They’re based on statistics from the health department on heat-related fatalities.,” said NWS Meteorologist Chris Outler. “We’re not expecting it to be 107 in Pahrump but it’s what we consider an excessive level of heat.”

The NWS reminds residents heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in Las Vegas and the U.S. People who overexert themselves in the heat can experience dehydration, hyperthermia and heat cramps. The homeless, the elderly, children and those with health issues are most at risk. Animals left outside in the daytime could succumb to the heat.

The good news is the temperature should cool a little by Tuesday, relatively speaking, with a projected high in Pahrump of 101 degrees, while it will be back to double-digit high temperatures by Wednesday with projected highs of 98 to 99 degrees, Outler said.

Over the Fourth of July period last year, Southern Nevada residents endured days of temperatures above 110 degrees.