February 7, 2021
A strong bubble of high pressure covers the eastern Pacific Ocean with a ridge extending into Alaska. Bitterly cold arctic air continues to dive southward through the Midwestern US. As of the time of this writing, one location east of Chicago was reporting 16 degrees below 0. Compare that to the mid to upper 60s we will enjoy the next few days with warmest locations teasing with the 70 degree mark, especially in Kern County. The northern portion of the high will break down ove the waters off the coast of the Pacific Northwest Monday and Tuesday which will change the winds aloft from northwesterly to westerly. A dry cold front will move through Tuesday with a chance of light snow showers over the high Sierra. The northwest push of air behind this system will issue in a somewhat cooler air mass. As this air is lifted by the southern Sierra Nevada and the Tehachapi Mountains, a lower level cloud deck will form due to upsloping in Kern and Tulare Counties. This system will clear the way for two more fast moving low pressure systems to move through, one on Friday and Friday night and the second Sunday into Monday.
The Friday storm appears to be pretty weak, but does deserve a chance of light showers in the forecast. The storm Sunday into Monday is stronger and potentially could drop more significant amounts of precipitation over California. Both of these storms are fast moving, reducing the chance of really significant precipitation with the exception of the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
Forecast: Mostly clear and hazy today with patchy fog early this morning. mostly clear but becoming partly cloudy after midnight tonight. variable cloudiness at times Monday through Tuesday night. mostly cloudy in Kern and Tulare Counties Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. partly cloudy Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. Increasing cloudiness Thursday night. a chance of light showers Friday through Saturday. rain becoming likely Sunday and Sunday night.
Short Term:
| Madera 67/35/67/40/63 | Reedley 68/35/67/41/64 | Dinuba 66/34/67/41/63 |
| Porterville 68/35/66/41/64 | Lindsay 67/34/66/40/65 | Delano 68/36/66/42/65 |
| Bakersfield 69//43/70/45/66 | Taft 68/51/69/53/65 | Arvin 70/39/70/44/66 |
| Lamont 69/38/70/44/66 | Pixley 68/35/66/41/64 | Tulare 66/34/66/40/63 |
| Woodlake 65/34/66/40/63 | Hanford 68/37/66/42/63 | Orosi 65/34/66/40/63 |
Seven Day Forecast:
| Wednesday
Partly cloudy 42/60 |
Thursday
Increasing clouds 44/64 |
Friday
Chance of showers 46/62 |
Saturday
Chance of showers 42/63 |
Sunday
Periods of rain 44/61 |
Two Week Outlook: February 14 through February 20: 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 will be variable to no more than 10 MPH through Monday night with periods of near calm conditions. Winds Tuesday and Tuesday night will be out of the west to northwest at 8 to 15 MPH with stronger gusts, mainly along the Interstate 5 corridor. Winds Wednesday will be variable to no more than 10 MPH.
Rain Discussion: Expect dry weather through Thursday night. a fairly weak and fast moving weather system will move through Friday and Friday night with a fairly decent chance of light showers. This storm will be followed by a stronger system which will move through Sunday into Monday. This storm has greater potential for more significant precipitation, especially over the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Models show several days of dry weather after Monday of next week, however, medium range models are indicating various other possibilities.
Frost Discussion: All locations will be above 32 degrees in the short, medium, and long range.
Afternoon Dew Points Today: Mid to upper 40s. Low to mid 40s.
Actual Humidity Range Yesterday: Delano, 96%/44% Porterville, NA
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 80%, tomorrow 30%. Bakersfield: Today: 90% Tomorrow: 50%
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days:. Stratford .57, Parlier .53, Blackwell Corners .NA, Arvin .52, Orange Cove .54, Porterville .NA, Delano .52. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford 53, Parlier 52, Blackwell 52, Arvin, 54, Orange Cove 53, Porterville 49, Delano 50
Record Temperatures: 79/24. Average Temperatures: 60/37
Heating Degree Days This Season: 1520. Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Average Temperature for this month So Far: 51.8 +3.8 courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno, 4.82, or -1.29 or 79% of average. Month to Date: .00 or -.45
Precipitation for Bakersfield, Season, 1.72, +or- -1.67 or 51% of average. Month to date .00 or -.27
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Orange Cove, 842, Parlier, 975, Arvin, 776, Belridge, 905, Shafter, 890, Stratford, 937, Delano, 996, Porterville, 937
Hours at 45 or below 45. Courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise: 6:54 am Sunset: 5:32 pm Hours of Daylight: 10:37
Yesterday’s Weather
MCE : Merced 153 : DH1600 / 64 / 33 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera 253 : DH1600 / 66 / 35 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno Airport 333 : DH1600 / 67 / 41 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford Airport 242 : DH1600 / 65 / 35 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore Naval AS 234 : DH1600 / 67 / 34 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield Airport 496 : DH1500 / 64 / 39 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia Airport 292 : DH1600 / 64 / 35 / 0.00 /
ATEC1 : Avenal 787 : DHM / M / M / M /
PTV : Porterville Airport 442 : DH1600 / 66 / 35 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: 24hr W.Y. % Last Y. % Ave. Year ave.
STOCKTON 0.00 6.43 80 5.27 65 8.05 14.06
MODESTO 0.00 5.90 81 3.92 54 7.24 13.11
MERCED 0.00 5.62 86 0.00 0 6.56 12.50
MADERA 0.00 1.05 16 0.00 0 6.54 12.02
FRESNO 0.00 4.82 79 0.00 0 6.11 11.50
HANFORD 0.00 3.03 55 0.00 0 5.46 10.10
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 1.72 51 0.00 0 3.39 6.47
BISHOP 0.00 1.30 46 1.16 41 2.84 5.18
SALINAS 0.00 4.47 63 5.99 85 7.07 12.83
PASO ROBLES 0.00 5.93 85 6.61 95 6.96 12.78
SANTA MARIA 0.00 5.90 80 4.79 65 7.42 13.95
Next report: February 8/am