December 9, 2017
Summary: High, thin clouds off the central and southern California coast are slowly moving northeastward into the southern half of the San Joaquin Valley. These clouds are most pronounced in Kern County. They will play a critical role in tonight’s frost forecast, which is summarized below.
Otherwise, a strong upper high remains centered off northern California and will remain in that same basic position through Tuesday. Surface high pressure will again strengthen over the Great Basin for gusty Santa Ana winds in southern California with no impact on the valley except for some possible downslope breezes in the south valley.
Later next week, the high will begin to retrograde off shore, turning the flow northerly. By then, the high will not ridge far enough to the north to really transport cold air southward, thank goodness, so pretty much status quo is expected.
Hazy conditions will prevail as the valley remains capped under that dome of high pressure. This will not change until this high says “Adios” and for now, it doesn’t look like that’s going to occur any time soon.
The two week model came out this afternoon and it is showing dry weather through Christmas Eve. That far out, projections get a bit shaky, but for now we’re going into the early winter rainfall season looking pathetic.
Forecast: A mix of high clouds and clear skies through Monday. Mostly clear Monday night through Saturday.
Short Term:
| Madera 30/64/31/65 | Reedley 29/66/30/67 | Dinuba 28/65/30/66 | |
| Porterville 30/68/31/68 | Lindsay 28/67/30/67 | Delano 33/68/34/68 | |
| Bakersfield 40/71/41/70 | Arvin 36/71/36/69 | Taft 42/71/43/70 | |
| Lamont 34/69/35/70 | Pixley 30/67/31/67 | Tulare 29/66/30/67 | |
| Woodlake 28/65/30/66 | Hanford 31/67/32/67 | Orosi 28/66/30/67 | |
Winds: Winds will be less than10 MPH with periods of near calm conditions through Tuesday.
Rain: Expect dry weather for at least the next seven to ten days.
Frost Information: The high, thin cloud cover which has moved in from main Kings and Tulare Counties southward could play a role in tonight’s outcome. In some areas, the clouds are very thin. In parts of Kern County, they actually dim the sun a bit.
Dew points are between one and four degrees higher than they were yesterday at this time. Interestingly enough, temperatures are down one to three degrees.
Tonight’s forecast is a bit of a tricky call. Assuming the clouds thin out, or even clear out altogether, coldest lows tonight could dip down to 27 to 28 degrees or so with most flatland locations in the 29 to 32 degree range with hillsides coming in above freezing.
The inversion tonight will again be very good with temperatures at 34 feet anywhere from 5 to 8 degrees warmer.
Temperatures Monday through Wednesday will continue to drop to below freezing in the colder locations, especially if no high clouds are in the mix. Essentially, as long as we have this very dry air mass, we will continue to see strong radiational cooling, lowering temperatures into the upper 20s to the lower 30s in the colder locations with some finally dragging themselves up above freezing.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
30 |
Ivanhoe
29 |
Woodlake
29 |
| Strathmore
29 |
McFarland
28 |
Ducor
28 |
Tea Pot Dome
29 |
| Lindsay
28 |
Exeter
28 |
Famoso
31 |
Madera
30 |
| Belridge
31 |
Delano
33 |
North Bakersfield
33 |
Orosi
28 |
| Orange Cove
29 |
Lindcove
28 |
Lindcove hillside
AF |
Sanger River Bottom
26 |
| Root Creek
28 |
Venice Hill
29 |
Rosedale
32 |
Jasmine
31 |
| Arvin
36 |
Lamont
34 |
Plainview
29 |
Mettler
AF |
| Edison
AF |
Maricopa
AF |
Holland Creek
AF |
Tivy Valley
30 |
| Kite Road South
32 |
Kite Road North
29 |
Next Report: Sunday morning, December 10