December 30, 2017
Summary: Strong upper level high pressure will continue to reside over California through at least Tuesday. The cap which has been over the valley due to the descending air underneath the high will also remain in place. Temperatures north of Kern County are anywhere from 1 to 4 degrees cooler than yesterday due to the high clouds filtering out some of that solar energy.
The real change will begin about Wednesday as a large low currently 800 miles off shore moves towards the California coast. Models this afternoon are back to offering a greater possibility of rain beginning Wednesday night. in fact, models are showing waves of low pressure moving inland and a possible system moving towards the southern California coast over the weekend.
There are many ifs, ands, and buts for the period from Wednesday on as models spit out various solutions, but at least we’re going in the right direction for precipitation.
Forecast: Generally partly cloudy through Tuesday night. continued hazy with patchy morning fog each day. Increasing cloudiness Wednesday leading to a slight chance of showers Wednesday night and Thursday. The possibility of showers continuing Friday and Saturday.
Short Term:
| Madera 31/66/33/65 | Reedley 31/68/33/64 | Dinuba 30/66/34/64 | |
| Porterville 30/67/33/65 | Lindsay 30/68/34/65 | Delano 32/67/35/65 | |
| Bakersfield 38/68/39/67 | Arvin 33/70/35/66 | Taft 42/69/43/66 | |
| Lamont 30/68/34/65 | Pixley 29/67/34/64 | Tulare 29/66/34/63 | |
| Woodlake 30/66/34/64 | Hanford 31/67/34/65 | Orosi 30/66/35/64 | |
Winds: Winds will be generally less than 10 MPH through Tuesday with periods of near calm conditions.
Rain: Expect dry weather through at least Tuesday night. this afternoon’s models are better than this morning’s as far as showing a possibility of light precipitation around Wednesday night or Thursday. A low pressure system which has been meandering over the Pacific for days now will move eastward just off the central coast by Wednesday afternoon. It will then move inland, mainly through northern California. Next weekend also poses the possibility of more rain. Models have been hanging onto the idea of a system moving through the southern half of the state with high snow levels and possibly significant precipitation. For now, we’ll just keep an eye on it and tweak the forecast day to day.
Frost Information: Once again this morning, we observed upper 20s and lower 30s throughout the citrus belts. Like last night, tonight will be somewhat of a challenge due to in and out cloud cover. Satellite imagery is indicating a more dense layer of clouds just off shore which will be moving inland during the course of the night. however, behind this batch of cloud cover is an area of clear skies which could arrive before sunrise. So, again we have two possibilities. If the cloud cover is thick enough to slow the radiational cooling process, most locations would end up in the low to mid 30s. However, if it clears, especially during the early morning hours, we would again see temps in the upper 20s to the lower 30s with hillsides remaining above freezing.
The inversion tonight will be strong with temperatures at 34 feet ranging from 5 to 8 degrees warmer at most locations.
Cloud cover will be the key Monday and Tuesday mornings, as well. I do believe we’ll see enough cloud cover to at least marginally moderate the lower levels of the atmosphere, thus nudging temperatures up a few degrees. If all goes as planned, increasing clouds Wednesday will keep conditions above freezing with above freezing conditions Thursday through next weekend.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
29 |
Ivanhoe
30 |
Woodlake
30 |
| Strathmore
29 |
McFarland
30 |
Ducor
31 |
Tea Pot Dome
30 |
| Lindsay
29 |
Exeter
28 |
Famoso
32 |
Madera
31 |
| Belridge
30 |
Delano
32 |
North Bakersfield
30 |
Orosi
29 |
| Orange Cove
30 |
Lindcove
29 |
Lindcove Hillside
AF |
Sanger River Bottom
27 |
| Root Creek
29 |
Venice Hill
31 |
Rosedale
30 |
Jasmine
31 |
| Arvin
34 |
Lamont
29 |
Plainview
29 |
Mettler
AF |
| Edison
AF |
Maricopa
30 |
Holland Creek
34 |
Tivy Valley
29 |
| Kite Road South
33 |
Kite Road North
30 |
Next Report: Sunday morning, December 31