We need to be out of the office tomorrow morning for a medical appointment. Reports will resume tomorrow afternoon.
December 22, 2021
Satellite imagery depicts a rich feed of subtropical moisture flanked underneath a large low off the northern California coast. It’s’ moving inland through the southern half of the San Joaquin Valley, mainly north of Kern County. This has a pineapple connection, so significant amounts of precipitation will fall on the valley floor, and more especially over the southern Sierra Nevada where lift squeezes copious amounts of rain out onto the foothills with heavy snow up high. The current low will be replaced by a much colder system dropping southward right along the west coast and into California Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Snow levels, which are currently around 8,000 feet will drop to 3,000 to 4,000 feet Friday and Saturday.
Some of the medium range models are now showing the rain line moving a bit further north after Sunday, but still encompassing territory from Fresno north. We’ll have to watch this over the coming days to see if a trend develops. Other models show rain all the way into southern California.
The two week outlook indicates well below average temperatures through the first week of January with a chance of precipitation from time to time, mainly from Fresno County north.
Forecast: Periods of rain through Sunday. A chance of showers at times Sunday night through Wednesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 48/58/50/57 | Reedley 49/58/50/57 | Dinuba 47/57/50/56 |
| Porterville 47/60/51/58 | Lindsay 46/59/50/57 | Delano 50/60/51/59 |
| Bakeresfield 52/62/52/59 | Taft 53/60/55/57 | Arvin 50/62/51/58 |
| Lamont 50/60/52/58 | Pixley 49/58/52/57 | Tulare 47/57/50/56 |
| Woodlake 48/58/50/57 | Hanford 49/59/51/58 | Orosi 46/57/50/57 |
Wind Discussion: Winds will continue to be mainly out of the southeast at 8 to 15 MPH with local gusts to 20 MPH, mainly from Fresno County northward through Saturday.
We need to be out of the office tomorrow morning for a medical appointment. Reports will resume tomorrow afternoon.
Rain: Satellite and Doppler radar are quite telling this afternoon. A long batch of moisture stretches from northeast of the Hawaiian Islands to central California where heavy rain is occurring along the central coast with lighter amounts over the valley floor, mainly north of Kern County. This system will not move much through Thursday night, so expect periods of rain, possibly locally heavy at times. The current storm will be replaced by a cold storm Friday through Sunday. Snow levels will plummet down to 3,000 to 5,000 feet. Periods of showers will continue through the weekend. There are models now showing the rain line inching towards the north beginning Monday, putting the wet/dry line at about Fresno County, while others show precipitation continuing through the middle of next week and possibly beyond. Blended model information this afternoon continues to show that the valley should tally between 1.00 and 2.00 inches along the east side north of Kern County, anywhere from .50 to 1.00 along the west side and .25 to .33 over the valley portion of Kern County.
Frost: All locations will be above 32 degrees tonight and each night through Sunday morning. A colder storm system will move into central California Friday and Christmas Day with lowering snow levels along the mountains. This air mass is certainly cold enough that a clear night would lower temperatures down into the upper 20s to the lower 30s. however, with an active pattern continuing, heavy rain and cloud cover should see temperatures in the 30s to even the low 40s next week. For now, there’s nothing on models pointing to a freeze pattern.
Next report: December 23 PM