The Scientific Aviation Mooney descending into the North Las Vegas Airport with Angel Peak in the background.

I have fond memories of Angel Peak (8780 ft) from the first LVOS campaign in 2013 when TOPAZ was deployed there and we stayed only 5 miles away at the Mt. Charleston Resort. We almost never had to go down into the valley except to buy groceries or fly in and out of Las Vegas.  As I write this, the official NWS temperature here at the North Las Vegas Airport (2188 ft) where TOPAZ is deployed for FAST-LVOS is 115°F and the unofficial temperature inside the TOPAZ portable “facility” is 126°F. The current readings at the Spring Mountain Youth Camp (8380 ft) next to Angel Peak, and the Kyle Canyon station (7045 ft) near the Mt. Charleston Resort, are 84 and 92°F, respectively. The temperature hit 117°F at McCarran International Airport, which ties (for the 3rd time since they started keeping tabs in 1942) the record high for Las Vegas. This is the earliest date that 117°F has ever been reached, however, and it’s only the first day of summer! Ironically, the last time the temperature hit 117°F in Las Vegas was on June 30, 2013 at the very end of the first LVOS campaign. What are the odds?