FXUS65 KVEF 152145 AFDVEF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Las Vegas NV 245 PM PDT Thu Oct 15 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... * Gusty north to northeast winds will continue this afternoon into Friday morning, with gusts of 40 to 50mph across portions of the region. * Precipitation chances return to the region Tuesday and Wednesday. && .DISCUSSION...Through next Thursday. Gusty north to northeast winds will continue across the region this afternoon into Friday as a shortwave continues to dig south along the backside of a broad upper-level trough over the Rocky Mountains. The previous forecast remains on track, with gusts of 25 to 35mph being observed across much of the region. Given the northeast direction of the strong winds, enhanced downslope wind gusts as high as 50mph are possible west of some of the higher terrain, including the Pahrump Valley and areas west of the Hualapai Mountains in Arizona. Strong crosswinds could make driving difficult on I-40 west of the Hualapai Mountains and Highway 160 near Pahrump. No changes have been made to the Wind Advisory, which remains in effect through 11 AM PDT Friday. Winds will diminish Friday afternoon as the trough pulls away. The most significant wind impacts should ease by midday, although breezy northeast to east winds gusting 25 to 35mph are expected through the afternoon. This downward trend will continue Saturday, with light winds returning Sunday onward. After a brief warmup to near normal this afternoon and Friday, temperatures will drop a few degrees to slightly below normal for the weekend. Dry conditions will persist through at least the weekend before attention turns to how a deep West Coast trough interacts with remnant moisture potentially moving into the region from Hurricane Simon. Currently, moisture levels do not look to be as high as what we saw with the remnants of Rachel earlier this week, but the impacts that will be seen in our region remain uncertain. The GFS and ECMWF have different solutions on Integrated Vapor Transport (IVT) plume locations and how they interact with the incoming trough. The GFS has 300 to 500kg/m/s IVT values over the lower Colorado River Valley Monday evening, while the ECMWF has values of 250 to 400kg/m/s at the same time, with the higher values displaced farther west over the western Mojave Desert. No major changes to the precipitation forecast have been made with this forecast issuance. Chances remain 30 to 40 percent Tuesday into Wednesday across much of the area, with 20 percent chances lingering into Thursday. Snow levels will be 8000ft to 9000ft, so some light snow accumulations in the higher elevations of southern Nevada are possible, although confidence in these details remains low given how far out this system is in the forecast. With the incoming system and the potential for rain, temperatures will remain near or below normal in the extended period. && .AVIATION...For Harry Reid...For the 00Z Forecast Package...Clear skies with breezy to strong winds last through the TAF period. Northeast winds are becoming more northerly and will reduce slightly from the stronger gusts observed this afternoon, peaking around 24 kts. These winds will continue into early Friday before reducing again, but remaining breezy. Strong northeast winds return late Friday morning with gusts approaching 30 kts. Gusts and winds reduce again that afternoon before winds ease and gusts cut off into Friday evening. For the rest of southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southeast California...For the 00Z Forecast Package...Clear skies last through the TAF period. Due to continued sheltering and its position in relation to the upper level pattern, KBIH keeps mostly light to moderate winds, while the rest of the region see strong North toNortheast winds. Gusty north and Northeast winds have arrived across the region, with gusts above 30 kts possible at most TAF sites into the evening (excluding KBIH of course. Winds reduce into the evening and early night but remain breezy to gusty for all but KDAG and KBIH. northerly winds increase again for KEED and KIFP in the late night, while the rest of the region (with exception of KBIH, which stays light) holds off until the mid to late morning before strong winds build back into the area. Winds begin to ease in the mid afternoon for KEED and KIFP, with other sites seeing winds drop off slightly beyond the TAF period. && .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...Spotters are encouraged to report any significant weather or impacts according to standard operating procedures. && $$ DISCUSSION...Planz AVIATION...Murdock For more forecast information...see us on our webpage: https://weather.gov/lasvegas or follow us on Facebook and Twitter