Cold Snap Forecast for Nevada: The Next Arctic Blast
In Las Vegas the coldest week is usually Dec 18 to 24, with a normal low of 39°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was 28°F on Jan 2, 2022.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Las Vegas.
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Nevada reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
Las VegasLas Vegas McCarran Airport, USW00023169
Dec 18 to 24
39°F
28°FJan 2, 2022
Dec 26 (8 of 10 winters)
8°FJan 13, 1963records since 1948
RenoReno Tahoe International Airport, USW00023185
Dec 21 to 27
25°F
4°FJan 31, 2023
Oct 21
−16°F4 times, last on Feb 7, 1989records since 1937
ElkoElko Regional Airport, USW00024121
Dec 22 to 28
14°F
−17°FJan 6, 2017
Sep 22
−43°FJan 21, 1937records since 1888
ElyEly Yelland Field Airport, USW00023154
Dec 19 to 25
11°F
−23°FJan 6, 2017
Sep 14
−30°FFeb 6, 1989records since 1893
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Las Vegas against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 Nevada reference stations.
At Las Vegas it is usually Dec 18 to 24, with a normal low of 39°F. At the other reference stations: Reno Dec 21 to 27 (25°F), Elko Dec 22 to 28 (14°F) and Ely Dec 19 to 25 (11°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Las Vegas stays above 32°F all winter; it bottoms out at 39°F. Single nights still freeze: the first came around Dec 26 in the median of the last 10 winters, and 8 of those 10 froze at all.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Las Vegas was 28°F on Jan 2, 2022, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was 31°F. Elsewhere: Reno 4°F on Jan 31, 2023, Elko −17°F on Jan 6, 2017 and Ely −23°F on Jan 6, 2017. The record at the Las Vegas station is 8°F, on Jan 13, 1963, in daily records since 1948.
At Las Vegas a typical recent winter brings 3 nights at 32°F or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Las Vegas McCarran Airport (USW00023169), Reno Tahoe International Airport (USW00023185), Elko Regional Airport (USW00024121) and Ely Yelland Field Airport (USW00023154). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
