April 26, 2019
Summary: Madera, Lemoore, and Hanford recorded highs of 98 yesterday, which were not records, but were obviously unusually hot for this early in the season. The strong upper high responsible will slowly weaken over the weekend for synoptic cooling. Even so, temperatures today in the warmer locations will still rocket into the mid 90s with low 90s Saturday.
The high will completely give way early next week as a weak cut off low still several hundred miles off the California coast begins to shift inland later Sunday night. the center of circulation will move eastward right along the California/Mexico border with the northern limit of this low as far north as Kern County. The natural lifting mechanism of the mountain ranges may be enough for scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms over the Kern County mountains, especially Monday. The chance of rain reaching the valley floor is very low. If it occurs at all, mainly the extreme south valley would be affected.
The main impact of this change will be considerably cooler temperatures as cooler air moves in aloft and marine air spills into the valley Sunday night and Monday. By Tuesday, the low will have moved into the Desert Southwest as a new low center sweeps southeastward from the Pacific Northwest and into mainly the Great Basin by midweek. Towards next weekend, some models are showing a new low developing off the California coast but for now, it appears appropriate to keep the medium range forecast dry.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through Saturday with occasional high clouds showing up Saturday. Partly cloudy Sunday. Variable cloudiness Sunday night and Monday with a slight chance of sprinkles or isolated light showers in Kern County. Partly cloudy Monday night. mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy Tuesday through Friday.
Short Term:
| Madera 93/58/90/56/87 | Reedley 93/57/91/56/87 | Dinuba 92/57/90/56/87 | |
| Porterville 94/57/92/56/88 | Lindsay 93/56/91/55/87 | Delano 94/61/91/58/88 | |
| Bakersfield 95/65/92/62/89 | Taft 93/66/91/63/89 | Arvin 95/62/93/59/89 | |
| Lamont 94/61/92/59/89 | Pixley 94/59/91/57/88 | Tulare 93/57/90/56/87 | |
| Woodlake 94/59/91/56/88 | Hanford 95/60/92/57/88 | Orosi 93/57/91/56/86 | |
Seven Day Forecast:
| Monday
Variable clouds 56/83 |
Tuesday
Partly cloudy 51/76 |
Wednesday
Partly cloudy 49/82 |
Thursday
Partly cloudy 52/84 |
Friday
Mostly clear 54/87 |
Two Week Outlook: May 3 through May 9: 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 generally at or less than 15 MPH through Saturday night and mainly out of the northwest afternoons and evenings. Winds Sunday and Monday will be mainly out of the northwest at 10 to 15 MPH with stronger gusts.
Rain: A weak moisture starved cut off low will move through southern California Sunday night through Monday night. Kern County will be on the far northern edge of its circulation. This will result in a very small chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms, especially Monday through Monday evening. I want to keep a slight chance of precipitation in the forecast for the desert regions. Even though this system is moisture starved, it may have enough dynamics to trigger isolated activity. Dry weather will return Tuesday with the possible exception of the Imperial Valley and Southwest Arizona which will have a small chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms Tuesday morning. Dry weather will return for the remainder of the week beginning Tuesday afternoon.
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Afternoon Dew Points Today: Upper 40s to the lower 50s. Kern: Upper 40s to the lower 50s. Humidity values ranging from 20%/70% at Hanford. Bakersfield 20%/60%
Actual Humidity April 25, 2019: Delano, NA, Porterville, NA
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 100%, tomorrow 90% Bakersfield: Today: 100% Tomorrow: 90%
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford 1.65, Parlier 1.53, Blackwell 1.73, Lindcove .NA, Arvin 1.71, Orange Cove 1.47, Porterville 1.58, Delano 1.57. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford 65, Parlier 67, Blackwell 69, Lindcove, 65, Arvin, 70, Orange Cove 62, Porterville 68, Delano 69
Record Temperatures: 98/37. Average Temperatures: 78/50
Cooling Degree Days this Season: 57 +30
Courtesy of the NWS
Average temperature for April so far: 64.7 +4.7
Precipitation: Seasonal total/average/above or below average:
Since Oct 1, 2018 Fresno: 9.47 season. or -1.07. Month to Date: .39 -.43
Since Oct 1, 2018, Bakersfield: 5.94, or -.09. Month to Date: .05 -.41
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: 6:10 am Sunset: 7:44 pm. Hours of Daylight: 13:31
Yesterday’s Weather:
MAE : Madera 253 : DH1700 / 95 / 60 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno Airport 333 : DH1700 / 93 / 64 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford Airport 242 : DH1700 / 94 / 54 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore Naval AS 234 : DH1700 / 95 / 53 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield Airport 496 : DH1700 / 94 / 62 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia Airport 292 : DH1600 / 93 / 55 / 0.00 /
ATEC1 : Avenal 787 : DHM / M / M / M /
PTV : Porterville Airport 442 : DH1700 / 93 / 56 / 0.00 /
TFTC1 : Taft 759 : DH1655 / 93 / 64 / 0.00 /
LOSC1 : Los Banos 120 : DH1600 / 92 / 61 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: Water year Oct 1st through September 30th
24hr Season % L.Y. % Ave. Ave. yearly total
STOCKTON 0.00 15.79 121 9.09 70 13.03 14.06
MODESTO 0.00 12.06 101 8.00 67 11.95 13.11
MERCED 0.00 11.87 105 6.91 61 11.34 12.50
MADERA 0.00 9.84 90 7.22 66 10.92 12.02
FRESNO 0.00 9.47 90 6.73 64 10.54 11.50
HANFORD 0.00 7.67 83 4.70 51 9.20 10.10
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 5.94 99 3.93 65 6.03 6.47
BISHOP 0.00 7.55 176 1.13 26 4.28 5.18
SALINAS 0.00 12.31 102 7.13 59 12.09 12.83
PASO ROBLES 0.00 14.10 117 9.62 80 12.10 12.78
SANTA MARIA 0.00 14.53 109 6.01 45 13.31 13.95
Next report: Saturday morning/April 27