January 27, 2020
Summary: Most of the valley is enjoying abundant sunshine this afternoon. The exception is due to a low cloud deck stretching from eastern Fresno County to Tulare County. Currently, a flat ridge of high pressure is over central and southern California which is moving eastward. The next Pacific storm will move into the Pacific Northwest and northern California Tuesday and Tuesday night. a few showers could make it as far south as a Bay Area/Sacramento line, but central and southern California will remain dry.
Following this system, a large ridge of upper level high pressure will build eastward into California, driving the storm track back up into the Pacific Northwest. By Friday, the high will be centered just west of the northern California coast and by Saturday the center of circulation of this high and its dome of warm, subsiding air will be right overhead. This will be even more evident Saturday and Sunday. Warmest locations may approach the 70 degree mark.
A major change in the pattern will begin Sunday night and Monday as a cold trough of low pressure digs southward into the Pacific Northwest then carves out a cold trough of low pressure over the interior western U.S. Modified arctic air will move into the Rockies and, to a lesser extent, the Greaqt Basin. California will be sandwiched between a large upper high off shore and that big low to our east with a north/south flow Tuesday and Wednesday. due to significant differences in models, it’s unclear how much of this cold air will move into the valley. At this point, however, it does look like it will be significant cooler Monday and even more so by the middle of next week.
For now, precipitation over the valley floor appears unlikely, but the chance of snow showers over the Sierra Nevada appears relatively high.
Forecast: Mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy tonight with areas of fog and low clouds developing after midnight. Areas of low clouds and fog Tuesday morning. otherwise, it will be mostly to partly cloudy Tuesday into Wednesday morning with patchy fog and low clouds Wednesday morning. the main challenge Thursday through Sunday will be night and morning fog and low clouds with hazy afternoon sunshine. Increasing cloudiness Sunday night with mostly cloudy and cooler conditions Monday.
Short Term:
| Madera 37/59/40/57 | Reedley 37/57/39/56 | Dinuba 36/58/38/56 | |
| Porterville 37/59/39/57 | Lindsay 36/59/38/56 | Delano 38/59/40/57 | |
| Bakersfield 43/59/42/56 | Taft 44/58/44/57 | Arvin 40/58/42/55 | |
| Lamont 39/58/41/55 | Pixley 37/58/39/56 | Tulare 36/58/39/56 | |
| Woodlake 37/59/39/57 | Hanford 40/58/42/56 | Orosi 36/58/40/57 | |
Winds: Winds will be generally at or less than 6 MPH with periods of near calm conditions through Thursday.
Rain: Expect dry conditions through Sunday night. there is a distinct possibility of snow showers over the higher elevations of the sierra Nevada Monday and Tuesday due to a cold trough of low pressure affecting the interior U.S. For now, we’ll forecast dry conditions for the valley floor, but this may change in the coming days.
Frost Discussion: Above freezing conditions will continue each night through at least Monday. We are still monitoring with great interest a developing pattern beginning late Sunday and lasting into the middle of next week. For the first time in weeks, modified arctic air will begin to spill southward into the interior west Monday. California will be sandwiched between a large high off shore and that cold trough of low pressure over the interior. This will create a north/south flow over California with significantly cooler air moving into the valley. For now, anyway, it appears the coldest air will remain east of the Sierra Nevada. However, careful scrutiny will be needed in future forecast packages as this forecast could change in at least some areas after Monday.
Next report: January 28/morning