March 9, 2019
Summary: The center of circulation of a weak upper low is roughly 300 miles to the northwest of San Francisco this afternoon. A weak cold front extends from toughly Lake Tahoe south/southwest then out over the Pacific Ocean west of Santa Maria. Light showers have progressed as far south as Madera County. The front will weaken further on its journey to the south/southeast. The low will move slowly south/southeast parallel to the California coast. By Sunday morning, the center of circulation should be west of San Francisco and by Monday west of Los Angeles. By Tuesday it will have finally moved through northern Baja.
Models have been indicating this will be a moisture starved event and there’s no need to change that train of thought. Mainly light scattered showers can be expected tonight with showers becoming more widely scattered Sunday. Sunday night through Monday will be dry then an inside slider will whisk through northern California late Monday night and Tuesday. This afternoon’s models show this system about 100 miles further east than had been expected, which would reduce the chance of showers Tuesday into Wednesday. One thing is for sure, after Wednesday the long awaited eastern Pacific high pressure system will arrive with trumpets blaring, dominating the pattern through next weekend when temperatures should top the 70 degree mark.
The following week also looks dry at this time, although the new two week model is hinting at some possible rain for northern California between the 21 and the 23.
Forecast: Scattered light showers tonight. Widely scattered light showers Sunday. Partly cloudy Sunday night and Monday. Increasing cloudiness Monday night leading to a small chance of light showers Tuesday into Wednesday. Partly cloudy Wednesday afternoon and night. mostly clear Thursday through Saturday with a warming trend.
Short Term:
| Madera 40/58/45/62 | Reedley 41/59/44/62 | Dinuba 43/58/44/63 | |
| Porterville 42/60/43/63 | Lindsay 41/59/44/62 | Delano 43/59/44/63 | |
| Bakersfield 44/61/46/63 | Taft 45/60/47/63 | Arvin 43/60/46/62 | |
| Lamont 44/61/46/63 | Pixley 42/59/44/62 | Tulare 41/58/44/61 | |
| Woodlake 40/58/43/62 | Hanford 43/58/44/62 | Orosi 41/59/44/61 | |
Winds: Winds tonight from Fresno County north and along the west side will be out of the southeast at 5 to 15 MPH with stronger gusts. In Tulare and Kern Counties, winds will be generally at or less than 12 MPH. Winds Sunday will be mainly out of the east/southeast at 5 to 15 MPH with locally stronger gusts, decreasing to 5 to 10 MPH Monday night. winds Tuesday will be out of the southeast at 5 to 12 MPH.
Rain: Light showers have spread as far south as Madera County as of the time of this writing. Scattered light showers will spread over the area tonight with only widely scattered light showers anticipated Sunday. All locations will record less than .10, barring something unforeseen. Dry weather will return Sunday night and continue through Monday night. the chance for showers seems lower for Tuesday through Wednesday as the system is tracking about 100 miles further east than earlier depicted. Nevertheless, there is a minimal chance of light showers for Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Dry weather will return later Wednesday and continue for the remainder of the week. Models still show dry conditions for the following week.
Frost Discussion: All locations will be above 32 degrees indefinitely.
Next report: Sunday morning/March 10