January 28, 2022
In this morning’s report, we mentioned how unusually strong a surface high is over the Great Basin. It was no surprise to me to see strong winds develop over the Kern County mountains. On occasion, these Santa Ana type winds can spill down the Tehachapi Mountains and on to the valley floor, which always results in interesting facts and figures. At 1:00pm,, the temperature at Bakersfield was 70 with winds out of the southeast at 14, gusting to 28 MPH. The dew point had plummeted to 12 degrees with a relative humidity of 10%. North of Kern County, little change is noted over the past few days.
Winds at the bottom of the Grapevine have gusted as high as 46 MPH. these winds will die off tonight as the pressure gradient between the interior west and a low pressure system off the southern California coast begins to wane. That low will move through southern California Saturday into Sunday and will throw some mid and high level clouds overhead, but little else.
The top portion of that persistent high has broken down. Unfortunately, it remains anchored firmly enough over California to continue with a dry forecast for at least the next week. In fact, once we get into February 5 and beyond, all models are indicating the return of a blocking ridge pattern with dry weather and above average temperatures.
Forecast: Variable cloudiness through Saturday with patchy night and morning fog. Mostly clear Saturday night through Friday with patchy night and morning fog.
Short Term:
| Madera 34/61/33/63 | Reedley 34/60/34/62 | Dinuba 32/61/33/63 |
| Porterville 34/61/33/63 | Lindsay 32/61/32/63 | Delano 35/61/34/62 |
| Bakersfield 41/61/40/63 | Taft 47/60/45/60 | Arvin 36/61/35/62 |
| Lamont 36/61/34/63 | Pixley 33/60/33/63 | Tulare 32/61/33/63 |
| Woodlake 32/61/33/63 | Hanford 34/61/34/63 | Orosi 32/61/33/63 |
Wind Discussion: Winds will be generally at or less than 6 MPH with periods of near calm conditions through Monday. In Kern County, expect gusty east to southeast winds at 15 to 25 MPH through this evening with local gusts to near 40 MPH. these winds will die off later tonight with light, variable winds returning Saturday.
Rain: Expect dry weather for at least the next 7 to 10 days.
Frost: It’s possible all locations may be above freezing tonight due to in and out cloud cover from an off shore low. If these clouds are too thin, then those low spots will again drop into the lower 30s with most locations in the low to mid 30s. As we’ve been stressing, as long as we have this dingy, cold air mass in place, coldest locations will drop into the lower 30s with even isolated pockets in the upper 20s each night for the next several nights.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
Af |
Porterville
Af |
Ivanhoe
31 |
Woodlake
Af |
| Strathmore
Af |
McFarland
32 |
Ducor
Af |
Tea Pot Dome
Af |
| Lindsay
31 |
Exeter
32 |
Famoso
Af |
Madera
Af |
| Belridge
32 |
Delano
Af |
North Bakersfield
Af |
Orosi
32 |
| Orange Cove
Af |
Lindcove
31 |
Lindcove Hillside
Af |
Sanger River Bottom
29 |
| Root Creek
32 |
Venice Hill
Af |
Rosedale
Af |
Jasmine
Af |
| Arvin
Af |
Lamont
Af |
Plainview
Af |
Mettler
Af |
| Edison
Af |
Maricopa
Af |
Holland Creek
Af |
Tivy Valley
Af |
| Kite Road South
Af |
Kite Road North
Af |
AF=Above Freezing
Next report: January 29