April 10, 2019
Summary: A much cooler air mass, obviously, spread over the region yesterday accompanied by strong winds and blowing dust. Aloft, the freezing level over Oakland dropped from 12,000 feet Monday to 6,800 feet this morning. A massive spring storm is centered near the Colorado/Nebraska border. It is so large in scope that even here in California, gusty winds will continue in some areas, including the west side of the valley though not to the extent experienced yesterday.
Just as that storm creates blizzards, tornadoes and many other meteorological events, a new system will sweep through central California Thursday night and Friday morning. It, too, will be moisture starved with a chance of showers over the Sierra Nevada and the Kern County mountains, mainly Friday. There’s a slight chance of sprinkles on the valley floor, but most, if not all, locations should record no measurable rain from this event.
This will lead us into a gorgeous weekend as a ridge of upper level high pressure will quickly follow the Friday system for a warming trend which will continue into Monday with mostly clear skies and marginally above average temperatures. Yet another weak low will move in to our north Monday night and Tuesday with precipitation remaining well to our north. A larger high at the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere will take over Wednesday through Friday of next week with above average temperatures and dry conditions.
Another trough may move through towards next weekend, but considering the time of year and the fact that models on this system just aren’t very impressive, the forecast will remain dry.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through Thursday morning. Variable cloudiness Thursday afternoon through Friday with a slight chance of sprinkles late tonight and Friday morning. Becoming mostly clear Friday night and Saturday morning with the exception of portions of Tulare and Kern Counties which may remain mostly cloudy. Mostly clear Saturday afternoon through Monday morning. Partly cloudy Monday afternoon through Tuesday. Mostly clear and warmer Wednesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 69/40/72/43/72 | Reedley 68/39/72/42/72 | Dinuba 68/39/71/41/71 | |
| Porterville 69/39/71/42/72 | Lindsay 69/38/71/42/71 | Delano 70/43/72/45/72 | |
| Bakersfield 68/46/72/49/71 | Taft 70/48/72/50/71 | Arvin 70/42/72/45/71 | |
| Lamont 69/43/72/46/72 | Pixley 68/41/71/45/71 | Tulare 68/39/71/43/71 | |
| Woodlake 69/39/71/44/71 | Hanford 69/42/72/44/72 | Orosi 69/38/70/43/70 | |
Seven Day Forecast:
| Saturday
Mostly clear 45/78 |
Sunday
Mostly clear 51/81 |
Monday
Partly cloudy 52/77 |
Tuesday
Partly cloudy 43/75 |
Wednesday
Mostly clear 43/78 |
Two Week Outlook: April 16 through April 22: For the first time in several weeks, this model is indicating a strong ridge will be over the eastern Pacific and California, resulting in above average temperatures with very little chance of precipitation.
Winds: Winds during the late morning and late afternoon hours will be calm out of the northwest at 10 to 20 MPH with local gusts to 25 MPH, possibly gusting to 35 along the far west side. Winds will decrease to 5 to 10 MPH after midnight. Winds Thursday afternoon through Friday evening will increase again out of the northwest at 15 to 25 MPH with gusts to 35 MPH possible, mainly from Fresno County north and along the west side. Winds Saturday will be generally at or less than 15 MPH and generally out of the northwest afternoons and evenings.
Rain: A fast moving frontal system will move through the valley late Thursday night and Friday morning. It appears to be quite similar to yesterday’s event which resulted in trace amounts of precip in some areas but little else. Dry weather will return Friday afternoon and more than likely will last not only through the weekend, but all of next week, as well.
Two weather systems will pass to our north, one about Monday night and Tuesday and the second next weekend. Neither appears to have enough dynamics to be a precipitation threat.
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Afternoon Dew Points Today: Low to mid 30s. Kern: Low to mid 30s. Humidity values ranging from 25%/75% at Hanford. Bakersfield 25%/65%
Actual Humidity April 8, 2019: Delano, 81%/34% Porterville, 91%/25%
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 100%, tomorrow 40% Bakersfield: Today: 90% Tomorrow: 60%
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford 1.25, Parlier .1.13, Blackwell 1.11, Lindcove .NA, Arvin 1.17, Orange Cove .98, Porterville 1.06, Delano 1.15 Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford 61, Parlier 62, Blackwell 57, Lindcove, 60, Arvin, 64, Orange Cove 59, Porterville 64, Delano 67
Record Temperatures: 95/34. Average Temperatures: 73/46
Cooling Degree Days this Season: 9 +1
Courtesy of the NWS
Average temperature for April so far: 63.2 +5.0
Precipitation: Seasonal total/average/above or below average:
Since Oct 1, 2018 Fresno: 9.22 season. or -.86. Month to Date: .14 -.22
Since Oct 1, 2018, Bakersfield: 5.90, or +.12. Month to Date: .01 -.20
Water year season is from October 1st through September.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Orange Cove, Parlier, Arvin, Shafter, Stratford, Lindcove, Porterville,
Hours at 45 or below 45.
Sunrise: 6:31 am Sunset: 7:30 pm. Hours of Daylight: 12:55
Yesterday’s Weather:
MAE : Madera 253 : DH1700 / 71 / 56 / T /
FAT : Fresno Airport 333 : DH1700 / 69 / 56 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford Airport 242 : DH1700 / 72 / 57 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore Naval AS 234 : DH1700 / 71 / 56 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield Airport 496 : DH1700 / 73 / 60 / T /
VIS : Visalia Airport 292 : DH1700 / 71 / 57 / 0.00 /
ATEC1 : Avenal 787 : DH1659 / 69 / 57 / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville Airport 442 : DH1700 / 72 / 59 / 0.00 /
TFTC1 : Taft 759 : DH1700 / 69 / 55 / 0.00 /
LOSC1 : Los Banos 120 : DH1600 / M / 55 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: Water year Oct 1st through September 30th
24hr Season % L.Y. % Ave. Ave. yearly total
STOCKTON 0.00 15.68 125 8.74 70 12.54 14.06
MODESTO T 12.03 105 7.56 66 11.46 13.11
MERCED T 11.84 109 6.75 62 10.85 12.50
MADERA T 9.75 94 6.94 67 10.41 12.02
FRESNO 0.00 9.22 91 6.40 63 10.08 11.50
HANFORD 0.00 7.49 86 4.51 51 8.76 10.10
BAKERSFIELD T 5.90 102 3.86 67 5.78 6.47
BISHOP 0.00 7.55 181 1.13 27 4.16 5.18
SALINAS 0.00 12.25 105 6.68 57 11.64 12.83
PASO ROBLES 0.00 14.00 119 9.56 81 11.78 12.78
SANTA MARIA 0.00 14.47 113 5.72 45 12.84 13.95
Next report: Thursday morning/April 11