Safety
Riding in the Las Vegas heat
How hot Las Vegas gets each month (NOAA 1991–2020 normals), the NWS signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and where to check the forecast.
Updated Oct 22, 2026 · 6 sources
Las Vegas is a great place to ride for most of the year and a dangerous one for part of it. This page puts numbers on the heat and lists the warning signs. It can’t tell you whether a given day is safe for you. That depends on the forecast, your route, your water and your body.
How hot it gets, month by month
These are NOAA’s 1991–2020 climate normals for Harry Reid International Airport (station USW00023169). “Days at 100°F+” is the average number of days per month that reach at least 100°F.
| Month | Normal high | Days at 100°F+ |
|---|---|---|
| January | 58.5°F | 0 |
| February | 62.9°F | 0 |
| March | 71.1°F | 0 |
| April | 78.5°F | 0 |
| May | 88.5°F | 2.8 |
| June | 99.4°F | 17.1 |
| July | 104.5°F | 25.8 |
| August | 102.8°F | 24.5 |
| September | 94.9°F | 7.9 |
| October | 81.2°F | 0.1 |
| November | 67.1°F | 0 |
| December | 56.9°F | 0 |
The airport is in the valley. Climbs like Mt Charleston get cooler as you go up; the low desert east of town around Lake Mead and Valley of Fire doesn’t. The local land managers take the heat seriously: the NPS doesn’t recommend the Historic Railroad Trail in summer, and Nevada State Parks closes many Valley of Fire trails from May 15 to September 30.
Warning signs
From the National Weather Service’s heat illness page:
Heat exhaustion
- Heavy sweating, weakness or tiredness
- Cool, pale, clammy skin; fast, weak pulse
- Muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, headache, fainting
The NWS says to move to a cooler place, loosen clothing, use cool wet cloths and sip water. Get medical help right away if the person vomits, or if symptoms get worse or last longer than an hour.
Heat stroke
- Throbbing headache, confusion, slurred speech
- Nausea, dizziness
- Body temperature above 103°F
- Hot, red, dry or damp skin; rapid, strong pulse
- Fainting or loss of consciousness
Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Call 911. The NWS says to move the person somewhere cooler and bring their temperature down with cool cloths or a bath, and not to give fluids. It also warns that a fan can make someone hotter when the heat index is above the 90s.
Check before you ride
- NWS HeatRisk is a seven-day forecast map from the National Weather Service. It looks at how unusual the heat is for the time of year, how long it lasts (nights included) and whether it raises the risk of heat-related illness.
- Clark County cooling stations. During heat warnings, the Clark County Fire Department posts a list of cooling stations. The most recent list on its page when we checked was for August 18–21, 2026.
- Park alerts. Check the NPS, BLM, Forest Service or State Parks page for your route; each ride page here links to it.
Our approach
Ride pages on this site say when a land manager warns about heat. We don’t publish “safe to ride” temperatures. If you want company on an early ride, Giant Las Vegas’s Saturday group rides start at 6:30 and 7:00 a.m.; see group rides.