December 17, 2019
Summary: The current temperature at Meadows Field is 63 degrees with a dew point of 3 giving a relative humidity of 9%. Winds are out of the southeast at 24 MPH, gusting to 32 as of 1:00pm. Other peak wind gusts from the current wind event are: Meadows Field 48 MPH, Edison 36 MPH, Lamont 52 MPH, Mettler 41 MPH, Rancho Road 45 MPH, West Cottonwood Rd. 39 MPH, the base of the Grapevine 43 MPH.
Significant surface pressure differences continue from strong surface high pressure over the Great Basin and a surface low approaching the north/central California coast. These winds will continue to scream through Kern County through the late evening hours then, as the low moves inland and weakens rapidly, the winds should die off quickly, probably after midnight. Winds north of Kern County will continue to be fairly light.
In the big picture, that low will move inland late tonight and early Wednesday. there is a small chance of light showers as far south as Fresno County. Elsewhere, however, dry conditions with variable cloudiness will prevail. This system will take its time moving through Wednesday, so considerable amounts of cloud cover can be anticipated.
High pressure aloft will move in from the west Thursday and dominate our pattern through Saturday. a relatively cold trough of low pressure will stretch from the eastern Gulf of Alaska to off the southern California coast Saturday. several impulses will move through the trough and into California from Sunday night all the way through the day after Christmas. It’s possible a dry day could be seen during that period. But the bottom line is, unsettled conditions will prevail for several days.
Most of the model information indicates upper level high pressure will build in from the west with possibly a northerly flow, so we could see a couple of frost nights in there. The past couple of days, models have been pointing at a possibly wet New Year as a low moves southward along the coast. It could move inland through southern California New Year’s Day, although, this far out that is by no means in concrete.
Forecast: Mostly cloudy tonight. variable cloudiness Wednesday with gradual clearing in the afternoon. Partly cloudy Thursday through Saturday with areas of night and morning fog. Increasing cloudiness Sunday. A chance of rain Sunday night. a high risk of rain will continue Monday through Tuesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 33/56/33/57 | Reedley 34/57/33/57 | Dinuba 33/56/34/57 | |
| Porterville 34/58/34/57 | Lindsay 33/57/34/58 | Delano 35/58/35/58 | |
| Bakersfield 42/59/38/58 | Taft 40/58/40/57 | Arvin 35/59/36/57 | |
| Lamont 36/58/35/58 | Pixley 34/57/33/57 | Tulare 33/56/34/57 | |
| Woodlake 33/58/35/57 | Hanford 36/58/35/57 | Orosi 33/58/34/57 | |
Winds: Over the valley portion of Kern County, winds will continue to scream through much of the area through the late evening hours with many areas seeing winds in the 35 to 45 MPH range with the chance of stronger gusts. After midnight, the winds will slowly decrease and become light by sunrise. North of the Kern County line, winds will be mainly out of the east to southeast at 5 to 12 MPH with locally stronger gusts. Winds Wednesday through Friday will be generally at or less than 8 MPH with periods of near calm conditions, especially during the night and morning hours.
Rain: There’s a small chance of a few light showers from Fresno County northward later tonight and early Wednesday. otherwise, expect dry conditions through Saturday night. by Sunday night, the chance of rain will begin to increase, especially from Fresno County northward. From Monday through the 26th, there will be a chance of rain at any given time interspersed with short periods of dry weather. It doesn’t appear that completely dry weather will return until the 27th through the 29th with possibly more rain to end up the year.
Frost Discussion: All locations will be above 32 degrees tonight, but possibly at or just above 32 in the colder locations. Increasing cloud cover will prevail tonight as a low pressure system moves into northern California. Most locations will range from 34 to 38 degrees. It’s possible river bottom and similar locations could dip into the lower 30s.
It’s possible coldest locations Thursday through Saturday mornings could dip into the lower 30s. in and out cloud cover will prevail through the entire period which will somewhat play havoc with temperatures. But, these are seasonal readings, after all.
It appears somewhat of a Christmas gift is at hand from Sunday morning until the day after Christmas as a deep trough of low pressure spreads cloud cover and on and off precipitation through central California through the period. These storms will be relatively cold, but with abundant cloud cover each day, above freezing conditions will be at hand.
Stable weather will return about next Thursday night and Friday which could result in a few frost nights. It’s possible we may also receive a New Year’s gift as some medium range models are suggesting we’ll have precipitation to wind down this decade and start a new one.
Next report: Wednesday morning/December 18