LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Spring signifies a time of change in the desert, where the beauty of blooming flowers comes hand in hand with the onset of allergy season and the wind that shapes our landscape.
Join us all week as Channel 13's weather team explores the impacts of this transition.
Check out what's in store for Spring this season with the Channel 13 weather team
As we leave winter behind, the melting snowpack will play a crucial role in replenishing our water supply — but that’s just one aspect of the seasonal shift.
This time of year also brings increasingly windy conditions, which are common due to seasonal atmospheric transitions from low to high pressure. The winds can stir up pollen and dust, making spring a challenging season for allergy sufferers. Plus, we can't forget about the warmer temperatures beginning to settle in.
How did we do? Checking on the snowpack as warmer months approach
The Las Vegas Wash serves as a crucial urban river that connects the valley's water back to Lake Mead. But as locals know, the reservoir has seen a significant decline in recent decades.
To check in on how winter did for water quantities, Geneva Zoltek spoke with hydrologist David Kreamer. He recalled a time when Boulder Harbor was fully operational, with boats floating above the current dry landscape marked by the visible "bathtub ring." Today, Lake Mead sits about 160 feet below its brim, prompting concerns from scientists who suggest it may never refill.
Snowmelt from the Rockies is essential for replenishing water supplies; however, recent USDA reports indicate the Upper Colorado Basin sits at just 86% median snowpack. Even more stark is the Las Vegas Basin at just 6% of median for the end of March.
Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesperson Bronson Mack noted the region may experience a 10-foot drop in Lake Mead this year and that spring runoff return will only be 71%. Mack says these warming and drying trends emphasize the need for residents to continue in water conservation efforts as extreme drought conditions persist.
Ways to handle worsening allergies as pollen counts pick up
As the days grow longer, the weather gets warmer and flowers begin to bloom, many locals start to dread the familiar unwelcome guest that is allergies.
Yes, we desert dwellers suffer from allergies, too. The pollen can be worse here because of the abundant sunshine, strong winds and the amount of rain we get each year.
If you haven't noticed, spring is the windiest season in Las Vegas, and local allergist Dr. Jason Bellak told me the worst time for allergies is between February and May.
Some local pollen that may cause you to sneeze comes from ash, mulberry, and olive trees. Some good replacements include red push pistache, red oaks, hollyhocks, southern live oaks, Japanese blueberry trees, sweet bay laurels, and even fruitless olive trees, approved by Clark County.
With all the pollen in the air, don't be surprised if your medication isn't working too well. If you're missing work and school days because of the allergies, it's a good idea to seek medical treatment.
The good news is that the peak of allergy season is in May, followed by a break from the pollen in the summer.
Why is it so windy in the valley during spring?
One of the questions we get asked the most as weather people is "why is it so windy here in the valley in the springtime?"
The short answer is that we're caught in the transition period between winter and summer weather patterns.
Guy Tannenbaum caught up with meteorologists at the National Weather Service Las Vegas Forecast Office to help break down what that means for you as we head into spring.
"It's really the tale of two seasons," said NWS Las Vegas Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dan Berc.
Berc says in this transition period, storms usually track just to the north of the Las Vegas Valley.
"Meaning that everywhere in Northern Nevada is getting plenty of rain and snow, yet all of the wind is on the south side of the system and comes right through [Southern Nevada] this time of year," Berc said.
Berc added that the "pressure gradient" has something to do with our strong winds, too.
"When lower pressure systems and higher pressure systems are closer together, we get what's called a 'tighter pressure gradient,' and stronger winds," Berc said.
Stronger winds that can sometimes be in excess of 60 miles per hour, which can easily knock down trees and powerlines, damage roofs, and kick up a ton of dust that can really tank our air quality.
Plus, the mountains surrounding the Las Vegas Valley can play a huge role in how gusty it gets in different neighborhoods throughout town, through what are called "downslope winds."
"When we have wind that comes over the mountains, it can't go through [the mountains], so it has to go over, and when wind comes down the mountain, it accelerates," Berc explained. "Red Rock Canyon, Summerlin, places closer to the mountains will tend to see the stronger downslope winds. If we have some southerly winds coming, which is less frequent, then you can see the same kind of thing in [neighborhoods like] Anthem."
Considering we're coming off of the second-longest dry spell ever recorded in Las Vegas — 214 consecutive days without measurable precipitation recorded at Harry Reid International Airport — our valley is desperate for a wet spring.
Unfortunately, though, it's not looking promising at this point.
"It's tough for me to go out on a limb and say 'we're going to get zero rain for X amount of time,' beyond the next couple weeks," Berc said. "However, we are looking at a dry period coming up."
A model from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center shows the nationwide precipitation outlook for the next three months–Nevada falls in the "below average" category, which would continue a trend.
We've only seen .59 inches of rain at Harry Reid Airport this year, which is well below where we're supposed to be through the end of March, at 1.8 inches.
"And .57 inches of that fell on one day, Feb. 13," Berc said.
But just because models show a dry spring, that doesn't mean forecasters are predicting zero rain for the season.
"It's just more likely that the conditions will be less conducive to rainfall," Berc explained. "That doesn't mean there will be no thunderstorms, and that doesn't mean you can't get flooding at your house [this spring]."
The best way you can get prepared for our big-time spring weather makers is–quite literally–to batten down the hatches.
Make sure you tie down loose objects in your yard like trampolines, patio furniture or trash cans, because they can easily blow away.
Also, trimming trees that are close to your home are a great way to protect it from damage from gusty winds.
Remember to hold onto your hats, too–these gusty winds will blow us right into summer before we know it!
While you might be ready for spring, your body might need some more time
As Las Vegas has seen this first week of April, chilly spells can still happen in mid-spring. The trend across most of the country since 1970, however, has been a warming one.
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that Las Vegas temperatures have risen some 6° across March, April, and May since 1970. The number of warmer-than-average days in those months has increased from 26 to 56 across that time frame.
While many Southern Nevadans welcome "bonus" pool days before summer officially begins, it's important to remember that your body isn't as heat-tolerant in the spring as it will be in the summer.
Whether you're poolside or trailside, health experts say gradually increasing the time you spend outside is the best policy, especially as triple digits typically begin showing up during the month of May.
Sunscreen, long-sleeved, lightweight, light-colored clothing, wide-brimmed hats, and sunglasses are important to help avoid the strengthening UV index.
Adjusting when you go outside becomes more important as the warm months wear on. The coolest time of day is typically near sunrise, so the earlier you can get outdoors, the lower the temperatures will be.
A few years ago, a morning mountain bike ride across Henderson's McCullough Range went miles longer than expected for meteorologist Justin Bruce.
"So I ran out of water," Bruce said, "and because the ride was longer, it got hotter than I'd planned for, because I was out in the elements into the late morning, when it starts to get really hot. It was the perfect recipe for heat exhaustion and dehydration!"
The symptoms of dehydration are wide-ranging.
"It's dry mouth, it's going long periods of time without urinating, feeling dizzy, having headaches, sometimes as it gets a little bit more extreme, confusion," according to Dr. Cole Sondrup, a Southern Hills Hospital emergency room physician. "Those are all problems related to heat and dehydration, and if you or somebody you're with is experiencing symptoms like that the first thing to do is to get them inside to an air-conditioned environment, and give fluids."