LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Sunday was the hottest day Las Vegas has ever seen on record. Harry Reid Airport hit 120 degrees, breaking the previous all-time record of 117, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s pretty crazy. We’ve hit 117, that’s our all-time record, we’ve hit that five times, and it’s always like are we going to break through? Are we going to break through? And we knew we had a chance today,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Woods.
Only FOX5 was at the NWS office in Las Vegas as meteorologists watched the temperature hit 120° Sunday afternoon. “Wow! We just smashed the record.”
“Basically, we have a big heat dome, big upper level high-pressure system that’s kind of settled over Nevada and California, which isn’t necessarily unusual,” said Woods, “but to this kind of extent, it is.”
The Kavacinski family from Indiana touched down at Harry Reid during the record temperatures Sunday. They said they almost canceled their trip due to the forecasted heat in Las Vegas this week.
“We knew it was going to be hot. It’s July, right? Did we know it was going to be this hot? No,” said Mark Kavacinski. “But we decided that heat’s heat. We can handle it.”
Back at the NWS office, staff marked this historic day in weather history with some artwork and baking. They created a masterpiece of melted crayon art and used a car as an oven to make cookies.
“Really to show how hot it gets in the car,” said Woods. “The top of the dash was reading 215 degrees, which is impressive and a reminder to never leave children or pets in the car.”
And if you think Sunday was hot in the Las Vegas valley, meteorologists say get ready for more.
“The heat’s not going anywhere, at least not this week coming up, so definitely have a chance of setting more records,” said Woods.
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