December 30, 2021
Low pressure continues to slowly move southward off the southern California coast. Showers are still occurring at this hour as far north as the Kern County mountains. The next weather system will essentially be dry for central California. The low is moving through eastern Washington and Oregon and will dive into the Great Basin Friday too far to the east for precipitation. Upper level high pressure over the eastern Pacific will slowly build inland Friday and Saturday, creating a north/northwest flow aloft. This guarantees a dry, but chilly, weekend. Below freezing temperatures will be possible Saturday through Monday mornings. This is discussed in the frost summary below.
Slow moderation will begin Monday, however it’s possible fog and low clouds will completely take over as a weak warm air inversion moves overhead early next week. As expected, models for Tuesday continue to show the possible rain line moving further north. Models are now suggesting showers will move no further south than a Bay Area/Stockton line. Behind this system, upper level high pressure will move in from the west again, so in all likelihood dry weather will prevail for the next week to possibly ten days.
With abundant moisture on the floor from recent storms, widespread fog and low clouds are likely, possibly as early as Friday morning. However, at this hour there’s an abundance of low clouds over the valley which is typical behind winter storms. This would preclude the formation of ground fog. We’ll likely have a combination of ground fog and low clouds each day until a strong enough storm system changes up air masses.
Forecast: Mostly cloudy through Saturday morning with areas of dense fog later nights and mornings. Mostly clear Saturday afternoon through Monday night with areas of night and morning fog and low clouds. Partly to mostly cloudy Tuesday and Tuesday night with patchy night and morning fog. Partly cloudy Wednesday through Thursday with areas of night and morning fog and low clouds.
Short Term:
| Madera 38/48/33/48 | Reedley 39/49/33/49 | Dinuba 37/48/32/48 |
| Porterville 39/50/32/47 | Lindsay 38/49/31/48 | Delano 39/49/34/49 |
| Bakersfield 43/48/37/50 | Taft 42/48/38/49 | Arvin 42/49/36/48 |
| Lamont 40/48/44/49 | Pixley 38/50/32/48 | Tulare 37/48/31/48 |
| Woodlake 37/48/31/49 | Hanford 39/49/33/47 | Orosi 37/48/31/48 |
Wind Discussion: Winds this evening will be mainly out of the northwest at 5 to 12 MPH. Winds Friday through Sunday will be generally at or less than 6 MPH with periods of near calm conditions with the exception of the far west side which will have locally gusty winds Friday to 20 MPH.
Rain: Expect dry weather for the next week to possibly ten days.
Frost: All locations will be above freezing tonight but only slightly above in the coldest locations. We’re still concentrating on Saturday through Monday mornings for the possibility of upper 20s and lower 30s. Low clouds are widespread over the valley floor at this hour, indicating the lower 2,000 feet of the atmosphere has an abundance of moisture left over from yesterday’s storm system. As the atmosphere settles down under building high pressure, a combination of fog on the ground or low clouds will increase in the coming days, possibly keeping temperatures in the 30s. however, it’s also possible mostly clear skies will prevail, allowing radiational cooling to lower temperatures into the upper 20s to the lower 30s with the chance that unprotected river bottom and similar real estate could dip into the mid 20s. Higher clouds will be more evident Tuesday and Wednesday of next week as a Pacific storm affects the Pacific Northwest and northern California. The flow aloft will either be out of the west or northwest during this period, allowing somewhat milder conditions to take over.
Next report: December 31