April 23, 2019
Summary: The first thing I noticed when I pulled up satellite imagery this morning was the lack of fog and low clouds along the northern and central California coast. This is a clear indication of an off shore flow. Winds at Travers Air Force Base at last report were dead calm so no sea breeze will enter the valley over the next few days.
Upper level high pressure will slowly build in from the west, driving temperatures well above seasonal averages. In fact, expect early summer conditions through Friday as temperatures in most areas will soar into the mid 90s. incidentally, on this day in 1910, the temperature hit the 100 degree mark at Fresno, the earliest recorded triple digit day on record. Over the weekend, the high will slowly give way to a low pressure system over the eastern Pacific. Most models are now indicating it will move through the southern half of the state Sunday night and Monday. A few models indicate there’s a slight chance of showers, especially Monday, mainly over the mountain areas with much cooler and breezier conditions.
The pattern for the first week in May is predicted to much different than the current readings as a trough of low pressure is projected to be more dominant over the western states. Climatology tells us that most, if not all, the precipitation will be to our north. However, I wouldn’t completely rule out a chance of showers sometime during this time frame.
Forecast: Mostly clear and very warm through Friday night. partly cloudy Saturday and Saturday night. variable cloudiness Sunday through Monday. Partly cloudy Monday night and Tuesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 90/57/94/60/95 | Reedley 89/57/93/60/94 | Dinuba 88/56/94/59/93 | |
| Porterville 90/56/94/59/95 | Lindsay 89/55/94/59/95 | Delano 90/59/95/61/95 | |
| Bakersfield 90/63/95/65/95 | Taft 89/65/94/66/95 | Arvin 91/58/94/62/95 | |
| Lamont 90/59/95/62/96 | Pixley 90/58/94/61/94 | Tulare 88/56/93/59/94 | |
| Woodlake 89/56/93/59/93 | Hanford 90/57/94/62/94 | Orosi 88/55/93/58/94 | |
Seven Day Forecast:
| Friday
Mostly clear 60/91 |
Saturday
Partly cloudy 61/88 |
Sunday
Variable clouds 59/87 |
Monday
Variable clouds 58/82 |
Tuesday
Partly cloudy 55/81 |
Two Week Outlook: April 30 through May 6: This model is indicating the first week in May will have a better than even chance of measurable rain. Temperatures will fall back to near seasonal.
May: As we now enter the dry season, precipitation chances, according to this model, will be that of most Mays, in other words, near seasonal. Nothing too dramatic shows up as far as temperatures are concerned with readings near to marginally above average.
May, June, July: As we move through the late spring through mid summer, precipitation opportunities will be typical, in other words, not very high and that’s especially true for June and July. For this 90 day period, temperatures are projected to run somewhat above seasonal values.
Winds: Winds will be at or less than 15 MPH through Friday and mainly out of the northwest afternoons and evenings.
Rain: Models are indicating a weak low will move through the southern half of California Sunday and Monday. It appears there will be a small chance of showers over the mountains, but for now we’ll keep the forecast dry for the valley. The medium range outlook for the first week in May is also indicating there’s a slightly greater than even chance of measurable rain during this period, although nothing of note is showing up on modeling.
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Afternoon Dew Points Today: Low to mid 40s. Kern: Low to mid 40s. Humidity values ranging from 20%/60% at Hanford. Bakersfield 20%/50%
Actual Humidity April 21, 2019: Delano, NA, Porterville, NA
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 100%, tomorrow 100% Bakersfield: Today: 100% Tomorrow: 100%
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford 1.38, Parlier 1.35, Blackwell 1.47, Lindcove .NA, Arvin 1.53, Orange Cove 1.26, Porterville 1.40, Delano 1.39. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford 64, Parlier 65, Blackwell 64, Lindcove, 65, Arvin, 68, Orange Cove 61, Porterville 66, Delano 68
Record Temperatures: 100/39. Average Temperatures: 77/49
Cooling Degree Days this Season: 27 +6
Courtesy of the NWS
Average temperature for April so far: 63.3 +3.7
Precipitation: Seasonal total/average/above or below average:
Since Oct 1, 2018 Fresno: 9.47 season. or – .99. Month to Date: .39 -.35
Since Oct 1, 2018, Bakersfield: 5.94, or -.05. Month to Date: .05 -.37
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: 6:13 am Sunset: 7:41 pm. Hours of Daylight: 13:25
Yesterday’s Weather:
MAE : Madera 253 : DH1700 / 85 / 49 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno Airport 333 : DH1700 / 81 / 55 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford Airport 242 : DH1700 / 83 / 48 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore Naval AS 234 : DH1700 / 84 / 45 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield Airport 496 : DH1700 / 81 / 55 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia Airport 292 : DH1700 / 82 / 50 / 0.00 /
ATEC1 : Avenal 787 : DH1700 / M / M / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville Airport 442 : DH1700 / 82 / 52 / 0.00 /
TFTC1 : Taft 759 : DH1655 / 79 / 56 / 0.00 /
LOSC1 : Los Banos 120 : DH1600 / 83 / 53 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: Water year Oct 1st through September 30th
24hr Season % L.Y. % Ave. Ave. yearly total
STOCKTON 0.00 15.79 122 9.09 70 12.95 14.06
MODESTO 0.00 12.06 102 8.00 67 11.87 13.11
MERCED 0.00 11.87 105 6.91 61 11.26 12.50
MADERA 0.00 9.84 91 7.22 67 10.83 12.02
FRESNO 0.00 9.47 91 6.73 64 10.46 11.50
HANFORD 0.00 7.67 84 4.70 52 9.11 10.10
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 5.94 99 3.93 66 5.99 6.47
BISHOP 0.00 7.55 177 1.13 27 4.26 5.18
SALINAS 0.00 12.31 102 7.13 59 12.02 12.83
PASO ROBLES 0.00 14.10 117 9.62 80 12.04 12.78
SANTA MARIA 0.00 14.53 110 6.01 45 13.23 13.95
Next report: Wednesday morning/April 24