January 22, 2018
Summary: From Fresno County northward, skies are mostly to partly cloudy this afternoon with abundant sunshine in the south valley. The low pressure system which dove into northern California early this morning just plain fell apart on its southward journey. Weak upper level high pressure is currently filling in from the eastern Pacific Ocean. This high will continue into Wednesday morning, keeping the situation fairly tranquil. Patchy fog can be expected both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings as decent radiational cooling will occur.
Precipitation will spread down the valley Wednesday night and could actually be locally heavy along the east side of the valley north of Kern County. The rain will continue into Thursday morning, tapering off into scattered showers Thursday afternoon and evening. The air mass behind the cold front is probably comparable to the air mass we had two to three days ago when a lot of frost stations chilled into the upper 20s to the lower 30s. there is one difference, however, and that is the fact reasonably strong upper level high pressure will build in from the west beginning Friday and will maintain dry and stable conditions through the weekend and no doubt through at least the middle of next week.
Once we get to Saturday, but more especially Sunday and beyond, a warm air inversion will develop in association with the high, so no doubt areas of night and morning fog will increase Saturday then widen out even more Sunday through the middle of next week.
Forecast: Partly cloudy from Fresno County northward until later this evening, otherwise it will be mostly clear with patchy fog Tuesday morning. Mostly clear Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. Increasing cloudiness Wednesday afternoon with periods of rain Wednesday night and early Thursday, possibly locally heavy at times north of Kern County. The chance of showers Thursday afternoon and evening. Becoming mostly to partly cloudy Thursday night and Friday morning. Becoming mostly clear Friday afternoon through Monday with increasing amounts of night and morning fog, especially Sunday and Monday.
Short Term:
| Madera 32/56/33/61 | Reedley 33/57/32/61 | Dinuba 32/56/31/61 | |
| Porterville 33/57/32/62 | Lindsay 32/56/31/61 | Delano 34/57/33/63 | |
| Bakersfield 36/57/35/65 | Arvin 33/58/34/65 | Taft 37/58/39/65 | |
| Lamont 34/57/34/64 | Pixley 33/57/33/63 | Tulare 32/56/32/61 | |
| Woodlake 33/57/32/61 | Hanford 33/56/34/63 | Orosi 32/57/32/60 | |
Winds: Winds will be less than 10 MPH with periods of near calm conditions into Wednesday morning. Winds Wednesday afternoon will be out of the southeast at 5 to 15 MPH with stronger gusts from Fresno County north. winds Thursday will be out of the northwest at 10 to 20 MPH with stronger gusts, mainly along the west side and from Fresno County north. Winds later Thursday and Friday will be mainly about 10 MPH with near calm conditions after midnight.
Rain: The chance for rain certainly appears higher with the next storm which will be rolling out of the Gulf of Alaska and into central California Wednesday night and Thursday morning with a chance of showers Thursday afternoon and evening. Rainfall amounts could potentially range between a quarter and a half inch along the east side from Tulare County north and possibly a quarter inch along the west side with less than a quarter inch in Kern County. Dry weather will return Thursday night with dry weather continuing through the weekend and most if not all of next week.
Frost Information: Skies this afternoon are partly to mostly cloudy from Fresno County northward with plenty of sunshine over the southern half of the valley. The air mass now in place is a tad milder than that we experienced a couple of days ago, but should still allow temperatures to fall into the low to mid 30s in many areas tonight with a few of the typical cold spots briefly spiking into the upper 20s.
As far as Wednesday morning is concerned, we’ll need to watch the behavior of cloud cover ahead of rain which will overspread the valley Wednesday night, but at the very least Wednesday morning would only bottom out in the low to mid 30s.
Thursday will be above freezing as the storm system moves through. If it clears Friday morning, upper 20s and lower 30s would be possible, but only in areas where winds die off and skies are relatively clear. Saturday and Sunday mornings will see a greater risk of upper 20s and lower 30s, but by the time we get into early next week, we could very well see a full fledged fog regime which would keep temperatures above freezing. If the fog does not take over, low to mid 30s would prevail in most areas.
Still nothing longer term suggesting a freeze pattern.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
31 |
Porterville
33 |
Ivanhoe
32 |
Woodlake
31 |
| Strathmore
30 |
McFarland
31 |
Ducor
33 |
Tea Pot Dome
31 |
| Lindsay
30 |
Exeter
30 |
Famoso
33 |
Madera
32 |
| Belridge
32 |
Delano
33 |
North Bakersfield
32 |
Orosi
30 |
| Orange Cove
31 |
Lindcove
31 |
Lindcove Hillside
34 |
Sanger River Bottom
28 |
| Root Creek
30 |
Venice Hill
31 |
Rosedale
33 |
Jasmine
31 |
| Arvin
33 |
Lamont
32 |
Plainview
31 |
Mettler
34 |
| Edison
33 |
Maricopa
34 |
Holland Creek
33 |
Tivy Valley
29 |
| Kite Road South
34 |
Kite Road North
30 |
AF=Above Freezing
Next report:
Tuesday morning/January 23