Southern Nevada Weather Outlook for May 1st to 5th, 2019

SYNOPSIS

Dry conditions with a warming trend can be expected through Friday as weak high pressure builds across the Southwest. Temperatures will peak Saturday before a low pressure system develops over California and gradual cooling commences. A few showers and thunderstorms can be expected Sunday into early next week across the Sierra and southern Great Basin region as low pressure meanders over the Southwest. UPDATE

Quiet weather will continue overnight. Some high level clouds were streaming in from the west this evening, but don't anticipate them getting very far as very dry air is in place over the area. Winds will remain light through the night and no changes were needed for the forecast overnight lows temperatures.

DISCUSSION through next Tuesday (Updated 1:50 PDT). Mostly clear skies prevail across the region this afternoon aside from a few flat cumulus buildups over the higher terrain. Expect clear weather to continue for the remainder of the workweek with a gradual warming trend on tap. Temperatures this afternoon will top out a little below seasonal normals but will gradually climb a few degrees each day. Near normal conditions are expected Thursday with temperatures climbing several degrees above normal for Friday and Saturday as the ridge axis sits overhead. Winds will remain fairly light through Saturday. On Sunday, changes will begin to take shape as a weak closed low pushes onshore into central California. While there remains model disagreement on the exact placement of the low come Sunday, the general consensus still supports the development of some scattered shower and thunderstorm activity across Inyo county, favoring the Sierra.

Model consensus continues to diverge as we head into early next week as models are struggling with the handling of the closed low as well as its interaction with northern stream energy dipping into the Pacific Northwest. The general idea remains that broad troughing will linger over the region, with persistent shower chances across at least our Sierra and southern Great Basin zones.

If the California closed low takes a more southerly track (similar trajectory to Mondays storm system) precipitation chances may need to be boosted further south into parts of the Mojave Desert region for early next week, but for now have maintained a mostly dry forecast from Las Vegas southward.