February 11, 2020
Summary: Low pressure continues to move through the Desert Southwest this afternoon while upper level high pressure builds eastward into California from the eastern Pacific. Temperatures on the valley floor are 3 to 5 degrees warmer than 24 hours ago, except for Bakersfield which is 10 degrees warmer. There are some locally gusty Santa Ana winds near the base of the Tehachapi Mountains. As of 1:00pm, the CHP office at the bottom of the Grapevine was reporting sustained winds out of the south at 23 MPH, gusting to 35. These winds will die off this evening.
The high will dominate our weather through Saturday night with generally clear skies and above average daytime temperatures. The high will begin to break down Saturday night, allowing a fast moving trough of low pressure to move through the Pacific Northwest then into northern and central California Sunday afternoon into early Monday. There will be a reasonably decent chance of light precipitation over the Sierra Nevada and a slight chance of showers over the valley floor, mainly from Fresno County northward.
As this system moves eastward, a large high will build along the coast with a ridge all the way into British Columbia. The combination of this ridge and the exiting trough will create a northerly flow Monday and Tuesday for a cooling trend. For now, it appears overnight low temperatures will remain above freezing. All the medium range models show a blocking ridge over and along the Pacific coast for dry weather after early Monday.
Forecast: Clear skies through Thursday night. mostly clear Friday through Saturday night. increasing cloudiness Sunday morning leading to a slight chance of light showers Sunday afternoon through early Monday, mainly from Fresno County northward. Partly cloudy Monday afternoon. Becoming mostly clear Monday afternoon and Tuesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 35/67/37/68 | Reedley 35/67/37/69 | Dinuba 34/66/36/68 | |
| Porterville 35/68/37/69 | Lindsay 34/67/36/68 | Delano 35/68/37/69 | |
| Bakersfield 41/69/42/70 | Taft 43/68/44/70 | Arvin 37/69/39/70 | |
| Lamont 37/69/39/70 | Pixley 35/68/38/69 | Tulare 34/66/36/68 | |
| Woodlake 35/66/37/67 | Hanford 36/67/38/69 | Orosi 34/66/36/68 | |
Winds: Winds during the afternoon and early evening will be generally at or less than 10 MPH through Friday. Winds during the night through midmorning hours will be generally at or less than 6 MPH with periods of near calm conditions.
Rain: Dry weather will continue through Saturday night. a weak trough of low pressure will move through central California Sunday afternoon through early Monday. There is a reasonable chance of light rain and snow showers along the Sierra Nevada with a slight chance of rain over the valley floor, though at this point it appears most locations will remain dry. After this system goes through, a strong ridge will dominate along the west coast with no chance of precipitation next week.
Frost Discussion: All locations will be above 32 degrees tonight, but at or slightly above in the coldest low lying locations. Above freezing conditions will continue through at least Monday morning. there’s a small chance of lower 30s Tuesday and Wednesday in the coldest locations as a northerly flow develops along the backside of high pressure off shore. No significant frost or freeze event is on the horizon at this time.
Next report: February 12/morning