Tonopah Airport Sets New March 19 Record High at 83 Degrees

Tonopah Airport recorded a high of 83°F on March 19, tying or setting a new daily record for the date, according to a climate summary issued by the National Weather Service in Elko. The reading, logged at 3:31 PM local time, beat the normal March 19 maximum of 59°F by 24 degrees and arrived as regional heat advisories and temperature records were reported at Nevada sites beyond Nye County.

The NWS Elko summary, valid as of 5:00 PM on March 19, marks the 83°F figure with an "R" designation. The bulletin legend defines that notation clearly: "R indicates record was set or tied." Station climate records at Tonopah Airport stretch back to 1954, meaning the temperature either matched or exceeded any March 19 high recorded over 72 years of observation. The previous record for that date stood at 75°F, set in 1997.

The day's low reached 44°F at 6:18 AM, giving Tonopah a 39-degree swing before the afternoon peak. By 3:00 PM, as temperatures peaked, relative humidity dropped to just 11 percent, its lowest point of the day. The morning high of 51 percent humidity, recorded at 6:00 AM near sunrise at 6:53 AM, illustrated how sharply conditions shifted across the roughly 12-hour span before sunset at 6:59 PM.

No precipitation fell at the airport on March 19. Month-to-date rainfall stands at a trace amount against a normal of 0.33 inches, leaving Tonopah below its seasonal pace. Since October 1, however, the station has recorded 3.10 inches, above the normal of 2.23 inches for that stretch.

Winds remained modest throughout the day. The highest recorded speed was 14 mph out of the north, with gusts reaching 17 mph from the same direction. The NWS bulletin noted plainly that "no significant weather was observed" beyond the temperature extreme.

The normal maximum for March 20 at Tonopah Airport is 59°F, the same as March 19's normal, with the all-time record for that date sitting at 79°F, set in 2004. Thursday's reading of 83°F already exceeded that mark, underscoring how far outside seasonal norms the airport's thermometer climbed.