Here’s a snapshot of Las Vegas climate records — the most extreme and surprising weather stats the desert city has seen over its official record-keeping history:
🌡️ Extreme Temperatures
Las Vegas has recorded some truly intense temperatures.
- The all-time highest temperature ever recorded in the city was 120 °F (48.9 °C) on July 7, 2024, making recent years some of the hottest in history.
- On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest temperature on record is just 8 °F (-13 °C), observed on January 13, 1963, showing how vast the desert temperature range can be.
- Las Vegas has also seen record daily low temperatures stay incredibly high, with a nighttime low of 95 °F (35 °C) recorded on July 1, 2013 and July 19, 2005 — meaning it stayed hot even at night.
💧 Rain & Precipitation Extremes
Rainfall is rare in Las Vegas, but when it falls it can be dramatic:
- The most rain in a single day was 2.6 inches, recorded on August 21, 1957 — a lot for a city that averages less than 4 inches of rain annually.
- The wettest month on record brought 4.8 inches of rain (March 1992), and the wettest year saw 9.9 inches total.
- Snow is unusual but has happened: the most snowfall in a single winter was 16.7 inches in 1948–49, with up to 12 inches falling in a single day in 1909.
🌵 Seasonal Record Oddities
Las Vegas weather records include some notable seasonal extremes:
- The earliest measurable snow occurred on November 15 (in both 1958 and 1964), and the latest was March 3, 1976.
- The city has experienced huge daily temperature swings — the largest difference between a high and low temperature was 60 °F on March 7, 1910.
- Las Vegas has seen 112 days of 100 °F+ heat in a single year (2024) and 36 days above 110 °F, also in 2024 — showing how extended summer heat waves can be.
🌡️ Climatic Extremes Summary
Las Vegas is one of the driest and hottest major cities in the U.S., but its climate also swings dramatically:
- Hottest days and nights ever show how brutal summer heat can be.
- Rare winters with significant snow remind us that desert climates can still surprise.
- Rainfall extremes show how monsoon and storm surges can temporarily disrupt an otherwise arid environment.
