Best times to fly
Best times to fly into Las Vegas (LAS)
Las Vegas sits in the desert, so summer afternoons heat the ground and stir the air, and the July to September monsoon can bring afternoon and evening thunderstorms. The calmest arrivals and departures are usually early morning, before the heat builds.
Calmest
Early morning
Bumpiest
Summer afternoons
These are the general seasonal patterns pilots rely on, and our own live observations below are confirming and sharpening them for Las Vegas over time. For a specific flight, check the live forecast.
What our live data shows
Average bumpiness by local hour at Las Vegas, from our own observations.
Sample size: 64 observations across 21 hours.
We just started measuring Las Vegas, with 64 observations so far. This picture fills in and gets more reliable every day as we collect more.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best time of day to fly into Las Vegas?
- The calmest window at Las Vegas is usually early morning. Afternoons, especially in the warm season, tend to be the bumpiest.
- Why is Las Vegas bumpier in the afternoon?
- As the sun heats the ground through the day, rising air columns and, in the warm months, thunderstorms stir up the lower atmosphere. That is what pilots and passengers feel as bumps around Las Vegas, and it is why summer afternoons tend to be the most active window.
- Is turbulence at Las Vegas dangerous?
- No. Turbulence at Las Vegas is routine and expected. Modern airliners are engineered for far more than they ever encounter, and the crew works to find the smoothest ride. Bumps like these are a routine part of flying that pilots handle every day, and the aircraft is built to handle far more.
Want the full picture? Read our guide: Is turbulence dangerous?
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