Las Vegas Weather turned wetter on Friday as rain and thunderstorm chances spread across southern Nevada, bringing cooler air for Halloween weekend and a temporary ground stop at Harry Reid International Airport. The change arrived as travelers, trick-or-treaters and late-night Halloween partygoers all had to watch the sky.
Around 12:30 p.m., the ground stop was called at Harry Reid International Airport because of thunderstorms in the area, with the hold expected to be lifted around 2 p.m. Travelers were told to check their flight information, and while that pause was tied to the weather, the bigger concern for the rest of the day was whether showers would keep building as rain chances ramped up across the region in the afternoon and evening.
High temperatures in the Las Vegas Valley were expected to dip to the upper 60s and low 70s, with Las Vegas expected to reach 70 degrees Friday. Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms were expected to develop that afternoon across Clark County and Lincoln County, and localized downpours were possible. For people trying to get through Halloween plans, that meant a wet window could land right in the middle of the evening.
The forecast did not point to a long washout. Drier conditions were expected to return on Friday night, but the break would not last through the weekend. As the weather system moved inland late Saturday night into Sunday, it was expected to bring a better chance of widespread rain, with Las Vegas forecast to top out at 68 degrees Sunday.
That leaves the unresolved question for the weekend: how much rain will actually fall? The forecast points to scattered showers first, then a broader round of rain later, but no amount was given for Las Vegas itself. Snow levels were expected to stay high above 9,000 to 9,500 feet, so the bigger story for the valley was rain, cooler air and a soggy holiday weekend rather than winter weather.
Behind the storm, dry and cooler weather was expected to return, with temperatures about 5 degrees below seasonal normals through much of the week. Forecast highs were 70 degrees Monday, 70 degrees Tuesday, 71 degrees Wednesday and 71 degrees Thursday, a sign that the worst of the system would pass and leave Las Vegas back under calmer conditions after the holiday rush.
