Your Daily Guide

It’s easy to mistake the first week of sub-100° temperatures for the brisk beginnings of a long-awaited fall. But the milder air has obscured heat elsewhere – because the Pacific Ocean off the California coast is hotter than ever. It’s turned San Diego tropical and spun up new storms in the Pacific – including one with an outside chance of hitting California over Labor Day Weekend (and by proxy, potentially impacting Las Vegas, as did hurricanetropical stormpost-tropical cyclone Hilary in 2023). [BBC, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, KLAS]

So … welcome to the biggest El Nino of your life (so far). [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

• El Nino events (formally El Nino Southern Oscillation or ENSO) are defined by unusually warm Pacific waters around the equator, hitting at least 0.5°C for several months in a row. Surface temps above 2.0°C are “very strong” El Ninos, or the so-called “super” El Nino. This year’s turbo El Nino? At least 2.7°C and rising. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]
• Historically, El Nino years have led to wet winters across the Southwest. In 2023, the last El Nino hit Las Vegas with 1.72 inches of fall rain. But in 2015, the last super El Nino, Las Vegas received just 1.42 inches of rain. [NOAA; Las Vegas Review-Journal]
• Thus, accurately forecasting the effects of an El Nino is easier said than done. As a National Weather Service meteorologist told the RJ Monday: Even if El Nino’s are often rainy, “by no means does that guarantee it’s going to happen.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
• But what about the monsoon? Well, so far monsoon moisture – driven by the temperature difference between bodies of water and land – has eluded Las Vegas, which has received just 0.18 inches of rain through August (versus 0.32 on average). In general it’s been dry as a bone out there, with 124 straight dry days early this year and just .69 inches of rain – total – so far. [NOAA, Las Vegas Review-Journal]
• Just next door, though, Arizona has caught the brunt of the monsoon. Over the weekend, at least 2 hikers were killed and 15 more remain missing after flash floods swept through the Grand Canyon. It’s the result of four waves of rain in rapid succession, with another storm expected to hit this week. [Associated Press]

⚖️ Jury Convicts ‘Keffe D’ in Tupac Murder Trial

After a nine-day trial, jurors took less than three hours to convict Duane “Keffe D” Davis for orchestrating the plot to kill iconic West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. 30 years later, Davis now awaits sentencing, where he could face life in prison. [Associated Press]

⛰️ A Vegas Developer Wants To Take A Slice of Yosemite

And the Trump Administration appears ready to give it up. The report cited a Nevada developer, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, that’s been seeking access to a quarter-mile strip of Yosemite in order to build a road to a private development just outside the park. If finalized, it would be an unprecedented transaction (even by Trump Administration standards). [NOTUS]

💉 Child Immunization Rates Nosedive

It comes as the number of requested vaccine exemptions in Nevada have risen to match, according to data from the CDC. Now, immunization rates for Nevada kindergartners have fallen to levels last seen in 2011 – when such records started being published online. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

🎲 Kalshi Loses Appeal over Nevada Ban

The 9th Circuit’s ruling paved the way for Nevada’s Gaming Control Board to ban Kalshi and other prediction markets. It also laid the groundwork for the stunning legal admission that what Kalshi has called “short term events contracts on sports” – applying the language of commodities trading to everything from game outcomes to stat lines – might just constitute sports gambling. Wow! What a concept! [The Nevada Independent]

🥳 Making the Most of September Weather…

Means starting the month with City Cast Las Vegas, where today’s monthly guide brings you the best food, experiences and events Vegas has to offer. That includes a vital local fundraiser, baked goods galore, and even, if you’d believe it, a self-driving car 🤖. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]