December 1, 2017
Summary: Yet another carbon copy afternoon as temperatures wind up in the low to mid 60s. Dew points are slightly higher and range mostly in the mid 40s. there are some high, thin clouds moving over the valley and they will continue to do so tonight, but my feeling is they will be too thin to slow the radiational cooling process. Thus, widespread 30s are again expected. Beginning Saturday, mid and high level clouds will begin to increase ahead of a low pressure system moving out of the Gulf of Alaska towards the Pacific Northwest and northern California. This system will drive a dry cold front down the valley late Saturday night and early Sunday, issuing in a considerably colder air mass which by Tuesday will result in widespread freezing temperatures. More in the frost discussion below.
Once we get into the Tuesday through Friday time frame, a massive ridge of upper level high pressure will build northward through western Canada all the way up into the Yukon Territory. At the same time, an equally amplified trough of low pressure digs into the middle of the country. Fortunately, the cold air diving into the central U.S. will not impact California. Even so, the air mass moving in behind the Sunday system will eventually be followed by colder, drier air for a series of frost nights which may last into next weekend.
The new two week outlook is available now and it is still indicating a blocking ridge of high pressure shielding California from any precipitation for the next ten days and possibly longer.
Forecast: Mostly clear tonight with areas of fog developing late tonight and Saturday morning from roughly Delano northward and up the center of the valley. Increasing mid and high level clouds Saturday afternoon. Variable cloudiness Saturday night through Sunday night. clearing Monday morning. Mostly clear Monday afternoon through Friday.
Short Term:
| Madera 34/64/41/59 | Reedley 35/64/41/61 | Dinuba 33/63/40/61 | |
| Porterville 35/65/40/63 | Lindsay 33/64/39/63 | Delano 36/65/41/63 | |
| Bakersfield 42/66/46/64 | Arvin 35/65/43/65 | Taft 44/64/47/62 | |
| Lamont 38/66/44/63 | Pixley 35/65/44/63 | Tulare 34/64/42/62 | |
| Woodlake 35/65/42/63 | Hanford 35/65/42/61 | Orosi 35/63/41/61 | |
Winds: Winds will be generally less than 10 MPH through Saturday night with periods of near calm conditions. Winds Sunday will be out of the northwest at 15 to 25 MPH at times with stronger gusts along the west side. Winds Sunday night and Monday will be out of the north at 10 to 20 MPH with stronger gusts along the west side and 5 to 15 MPH elsewhere.
Rain: Expect dry weather for at least the next seven to ten days.
Frost Information: Expect temperatures to fall down into the 30s once again tonight with the coldest locations down to 33 to 35 and riverbottom type locations possibly down near 30. For Sunday morning, increasing cloud cover will keep all locations above freezing. Colder air will be arriving Sunday. For now, Monday night looks like a mixed bag as potential cloud cover, mixing, and wind conditions will likely keep readings in the low to mid 30s, however where it clears and winds die off, upper 20s are not out of the question. By Tuesday, skies will have cleared and winds will have died off. Dew points will fall into at least the upper 20s in most locations Monday afternoon, meaning the air will be quite dry. This will allow temperatures to generally fall into the upper 20s to lower 30s with low lying frost pockets possibly as low as 23 to 26 degrees. This will mark the beginning of a series of cold nights with sub freezing temperatures as a shallow layer of dry air becomes trapped on the valley floor. There is an outside chance that dew points will not lower to projected levels, but for now I can’t make that guarantee as models have been amazingly consistent the past several days.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
AF |
Porterville
AF |
Ivanhoe
AF |
Woodlake
AF |
| Strathmore
AF |
McFarland
AF |
Ducor
AF |
Tea Pot Dome
AF |
| Lindsay
AF |
Exeter
AF |
Famoso
AF |
Madera
AF |
| Belridge
AF |
Delano
AF |
North Bakersfield
AF |
Orosi
32 |
| Orange Cove
AF |
Lindcove
AF |
Lindcove hillside
AF |
Sanger River Bottom
30 |
| Root Creek
32 |
Venice Hill
AF |
Rosedale
AF |
Jasmine
AF |
| Arvin
AF |
Lamont
AF |
Plainview
AF |
Mettler
AF |
| Edison
AF |
Maricopa
AF |
Holland Creek
AF |
Tivy Valley
AF |
| Kite Road South
AF |
Kite Road North
AF |
Next Report: Saturday morning, December 2