LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — While we are still in spring, the trend across most of the country since 1970 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.
Justin Bruce shares some tips and his own experience with not being quite ready for warmer weather.
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.
"Now's the time to begin acclimating," said Glen Simpson, the Senior Director at Community Ambulance, "and acclimating includes increasing the amount of fluid intake that you're taking, avoiding alcoholic beverages, sugary beverages, sodas, and energy drinks, and really just sticking to water. In addition to that, exposing yourself to the elements a little bit each day."
With the Mojave Desert at our doorstep, many Nevadans take advantage of our numerous trails by hiking and mountain biking this time of year. 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."
Will we see our first 100° day before we close out May? Justin Bruce has your seven-day forecast leading up to Memorial Day.
