January 17, 2018
Summary: Low clouds are just now beginning to clear in some areas, especially along the east side north of Kern County and no doubt other locations will clear before the afternoon is over. We are not quite out of the woods yet with our fog regime as dew points are up around 50 degrees this afternoon. With enough clearing tonight, fog will have the ability to quickly form and fan out towards the edges of the valley.
Higher clouds will be rapidly increasing Thursday ahead of the next low pressure system. There is a small chance of a few showers as early as late Thursday afternoon, but the main body of precipitation will move through after midnight Thursday night and Friday morning. The northwest flow behind the front will be somewhat unstable so scattered showers are possible Friday afternoon and night. the air mass behind the cold front is much colder and will drive temperatures this weekend down into the 30s with possible local frost, which is discussed below.
A weak ridge will take over later Saturday through Sunday, possibly allowing more fog and low clouds to form. There may also be leftover upslope clouds over the valley floor which would mean milder overnight lows.
The next Pacific storm will move into northern California late Sunday night and Monday. On paper, it seems to be tracking more towards northern California with the bulk of the precipitation from Fresno County northward and only a small chance of showers further south.
There’s also the possibility of a third system out there. This is the second day in a row this has manifested itself on models. We’ll just go with a chance of showers at this point around Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
Forecast: Fog becoming widespread again later tonight. Clearing Thursday morning with increasing higher clouds and a small chance of light showers by evening. The chance of showers will increase Thursday night through Friday morning with scattered showers possible Friday afternoon and night. mostly to partly cloudy Saturday. Mostly clear to partly cloudy Saturday night and Sunday morning. Increasing cloudiness later Sunday afternoon leading to a chance of showers from mainly Fresno County northward Sunday night and Monday. Partly cloudy Monday night through Tuesday with areas of night and morning fog. A slight chance of showers Wednesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 46/62/49/58 | Reedley 47/63/49/58 | Dinuba 46/62/48/57 | |
| Porterville 44/64/49/59 | Lindsay 45/64/50/58 | Delano 45/65/50/59 | |
| Bakersfield 47/67/50/59 | Arvin 46/68/50/60 | Taft 49/67/51/59 | |
| Lamont 46/66/51/60 | Pixley 47/64/49/58 | Tulare 45/62/49/58 | |
| Woodlake 44/63/48/58 | Hanford 45/64/49/59 | Orosi 44/63/48/58 | |
Winds: Winds will be less than 10 MPH tonight and Thursday morning with periods of near calm conditions. Winds Thursday afternoon through night will be mainly out of the southeast at 5 to 15 MPH with locally stronger gusts, mainly from Fresno County northward. Winds Friday through Friday evening will be out of the northwest at 10 to 20 MPH with stronger gusts, mainly north of Fresno and along the west side. Winds Saturday will be mainly out of the northwest at 5 to 15 MPH, becoming light Saturday night.
Rain: It is possible that locations from Fresno County northward could see some rain tonight, but the main event, weak as it may be, will be Thursday night and Friday morning…just ahead of and along the cold front. The chance of showers will continue Friday afternoon through Friday night as the air mass behind the front will be relatively unsettled. Saturday through Sunday will be dry then the next low pressure system will move into northern California Sunday night and Monday with a decent chance of showers from Fresno County north with only a slight chance south of that line. Yet a third system continues to pop up on models for Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Currently, it looks like it could spread rain into the area, but that remains to be seen as recent systems have simply moved in farther north when it’s time for them to move down California.
Frost Information: All locations will be above freezing through Friday morning and quite possibly Saturday morning. A cold front will quickly move down the valley late Thursday night and Friday morning with a much colder air mass following along. Models consistently have been lowering temperatures in the valley into the 30s, so it is possible local frost could occur Saturday morning, but only where winds die off and skies clear for a reasonable amount of time. There is a greater risk of low 30s and possibly a few upper 20s on Sunday morning as there could be less cloud cover. Clouds will be increasing Monday so above freezing conditions can be expected Monday and Tuesday of next week and possibly Wednesday and Thursday, we well.
Lows Tonight:
All locations will be above freezing tonight.
Next Report: Thursday morning, January 18