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By The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS - Temperatures were on the rise in Nevada in 2007.

National Weather Service officials recorded the hottest year on record for Las Vegas, where the final average temperature of 71.1 degrees, shattered the 70.1 degree record set in 2003 and matched in 2005.

Reno also saw an unusually warm year.

Reno weather service meteorologist Alex Hoon said the 2003 record for hottest average temperature wasn't broken, but 2007 would place either second or third behind it.

The city did break its record for the warmest August in history, Hoon said.

"It's definitely been a hot, dry year," he said.

Officials at the weather service attributed the unusually warm weather of the past year to the "heat-island" effect, where buildings and streets trap heat during the day and don't cool down at night.

Las Vegas' added growth could have been the main factor for its new record, meteorologist Charlie Schlott said.

Official temperatures have been recorded since 1946 at McCarran International Airport, and as the city has built around the airport, temperatures have risen.

But the "heat-island" effect might not be the only thing contributing to the warmer-than-usual temperatures, he said.

Data from the Western Regional Climate Center, which pools data from more than 100 thermometers statewide, shows that Nevada temperatures, and particularly low temperatures, have been rising at an unprecedented rate over the past 10 years.

Along with the record for the hottest year in Las Vegas, 2007 also saw records set for:

- The hottest average annual low temperature of 60.4 degrees, 4.1 degrees higher than the normal average.

- The hottest July on record, which also turned out to be the hottest month in Las Vegas history.

- The warmest November on record.

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