February 5, 2021
Considerable warming is taking place above the valley floor. Sandberg at an elevation of 4,100 feet is 8 degrees warmer than 24 hours ago while Blue Canyon at 5,800 feet is a full 16 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time. The freezing level taken over Vandenberg AFB a short time ago has now jumped up to 13,800 feet while the balloon sounding at Oakland was similar at 13,400 feet. California is on the eastern side of a massive high which covers the eastern Pacific and has pushed all the way northward into Alaska. The high will begin to flatten out over the second half of the weekend so the current northwesterly flow will be replaced by a westerly flow aloft.
Beginning Sunday night, there will be periods of variable mid and high level clouds from time to time which will overrun the high. The GFS model actually shows a chance of light showers about Tuesday night or Wednesday, however that’s the odd model out so we’ll continue with a dry forecast.
Medium range models for the middle of next week and beyond continue to show a pattern of high pressure off the California coast with the storm track moving mainly into the Pacific Northwest. Periodic outbreaks of bitterly cold arctic air will plunge into the eastern 2/3 of the U.S. from time to time beginning this weekend and lasting most of next week. Fortunately, that is their problem with pleasant afternoons continuing in our region.
Forecast: Other than patchy night and morning fog, hazy sunshine w ill prevail each day through Sunday. Variable clouds at times Sunday night through Friday interspersed with periods of mostly clear skies and patchy night and morning fog.
Short Term:
| Madera 61/34/64/35/65 | Reedley 62/33/64/34/66 | Dinuba 61/32/63/34/64 |
| Porterville 62/33/64/35/66 | Lindsay 61/32/64/34/65 | Delano 62/33/65/35/66 |
| Bakersfield 63/39/66/41/67 | Taft 60/44/64/48/66 | Arvin 63/36/66/37/67 |
| Lamont 63/35/66/38/68 | Pixley 63/32/64/35/66 | Tulare 61/32/64/34/65 |
| Woodlake 61/33/64/35/65 | Hanford 65/33/65/36/66 | Orosi 60/32/64/34/64 |
Seven Day Forecast:
| Monday
Patchy fog/partly cloudy 39/64 |
Tuesday
Patchy fog/partly cloudy 42/65 |
Wednesday
Patchy fog/partly cloudy 45/63 |
Thursday
Patchy fog/partly cloudy 41/62 |
Friday
Patchy fog/partly cloudy 41/63 |
Two Week Outlook: February 11 through February 17: This model indicates predominately high pressure over the eastern Pacific and California. The chance of rain will be quite low during this time frame. Temperatures will run marginally above average.
February: Both the 30 and 90 day outlooks reflect a La Nina pattern with below average precipitation over the southern 2/3 of California and above average precip over parts of the Pacific Northwest and northern California. Temperatures should be close to seasonal averages.
February, March, April: Precipitation will continue to be above average over the Pacific Northwest and roughly the northern ¼ of California with the southern 2/ 3 of California having below average precipitation. Temperatures should be marginally above average.
Winds Discussion: Winds during the mid morning to afternoon hours will be variable at or less than 10 MPH through Monday. Winds during the night and early morning hours will be no more than 7 MPH with extended periods of near calm conditions.
Rain Discussion: Expect dry weather for the next week to possibly ten days.
Frost Discussion: As of 6:30, the coldest temperatures I could find were 30 degrees at Fowler, Orange Cove, and Lindsay. All other locations were in the warm to mid 30s. most locations tonight will be on the average two degrees milder, pulling many locations slightly above freezing. Even so, coldest frost pocket type locations will drop down to 30/32.
Beginning Sunday morning and beyond, the combination of a mild westerly flow aloft and variable cloudiness from time to time will keep temperatures above freezing for all next week.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
Af |
Porterville
Af |
Ivanhoe
32 |
Woodlake
Af |
| Strathmore
Af |
mcFArland
af |
Ducor
Af |
Tea Pot Dome
Af |
| Lindsay
32 |
Exeter
31 |
Famoso
Af |
Madera
Af |
| Belridge
32 |
Delano
Af |
North Bakersfield
Af |
Orosi
32 |
| Orange Cove
32 |
Lindcove
32 |
Lindcove Hillside
Af |
Sanger River Bottom
30 |
| Root Creek
31 |
Venice Hill
Ag |
Rosedale
Af |
Jasmine
Af |
| Arvin
Af |
Lamont
Af |
Plainview
Af |
Mettler
Af |
| Edison
Af |
Maricopa
Af |
Holland Creek
AF |
Tivy Valley
Af |
| Kite Rd South
Af |
Kite Road North
Af |
AF=Above Freezing