One of the protective elements of the weather in the San Joaquin Valley is upslope clouds behind cold fronts. That was certainly evident last night as that protective layer of cloud cover blanketed much of Kern and Tulare Counties. The sounding above Porterville last hour indicated the base of the cloud deck was right at 5,000 feet. Wind conditions and mixing also played roles in keeping temperatures in the low to mid 30s. what cloud cover is left will mix out during the course of the day as another fast moving dry weather system races through the Great Basin and into southern California. That will set the stage for a chilly couple of nights coming up as lack of cloud cover and wind conditions will allow for strong radiational cooling. Most locations will dip into the upper 20s to the lower 30s tonight and again Friday morning, as well.
Strong upper level high pressure is centered well off the northern California coast. This has created a strong north to northeast flow aloft which will continue through tonight. The flow will become north/northwest Thursday and Friday.
Over the weekend, the high will shift a bit further east over California, resulting in a warming trend. With dry air in place, daytime highs will rise above average with overnight lows continuing below average and with pockets of below freezing conditions.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through Saturday. Mostly clear skies will continue Saturday night through Wednesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 56/29/61/29/65 | Reedley 56/28/60/29/64 | Dinuba 55/27/60/29/64 |
| Porterville 56/29/61/29/64 | Lindsay 56/26/61/27/64 | Delano 56/29/61/30/64 |
| Bakersfield 56/34/61/36/65 | Taft 55/35/58/40/63 | Arvin 56/30/61/31/65 |
| Lamont 57/30/60/31/66 | Pixley 55/28/61/29/65 | Tulare 55/27/59/28/63 |
| Woodlake 54/28/61/29/65 | Hanford 56/29/60/30/64 | Orosi 55/28/61/29/65 |
Seven Forecast
| Saturday
Mostly clear 32/64 |
Sunday
Mostly clear 33/65 |
Monday
Mostly clear 34/67 |
Tuesday
Mostly clear 35/68 |
Wednesday
Mostly clear 36/68 |
Two Week Outlook: February 8 through February 14: this time around, this model is reverting back to the same old thing. A large ridge of upper level high pressure will cover the eastern Pacific and the western one-third of the US, meaning the chance of rain will be very low with above average temperatures.
February: The guidance on this model does not show any particular pattern that would favor temperatures or precipitation. Basically, what it’s saying is there’s equal chances of above or below average rain as well as above or below average temperatures. Flip a coin.
February, March, April: There are no dominant trends on this model favoring above or below average precipitation. Temperatures during this period should be fairly close to seasonal values.
Wind Discussion: Winds will be generally at or less than 7 MPH through Saturday with periods of near calm conditions. The exception will be along the far west side of the valley today where winds will increase out of the north to northeast at 10 to 20 MPH with stronger gusts.
Rain: Expect dry conditions for the next 7 to 10 days.
Frost: Lows this morning are mostly in the low to mid 30s as of 6:00am. Sanger was at 29 which was the coldest we’ve seen so far. Last night, we had the blessing of wind conditions and upslope clouds in Kern and Tulare Counties. These clouds will mix out due to drier air mixing down to the surface courtesy of a strong northeast flow aloft. Modeling shows dew points generally dropping into the upper 20s and lower 30s and in the 20s along the west side and in Kern County.
Coldest real estate will drop into the 26 to 27 degree range Thursday and Friday mornings with most locations dropping into the upper 20s to the lower 30s. hillsides will drop into the low to mid 30s.
Over the weekend, as upper level high pressure builds overhead, daytime highs will warm back into the 60s. The warming trend will be much slower with those overnight lows. Look for readings Saturday and Sunday mornings will be in the low to mid 30s with isolated river bottom type locations in the upper 20s. Look for lows Sunday through Tuesday mornings to be in the low to mid 30s.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
28 |
Ivanhoe
26 |
Woodlake
29 |
| Strathmore
29 |
McFarland
27 |
Ducor
30 |
Tea Pot Dome
29 |
| Lindsay
27 |
Exeter
28 |
Famoso
29 |
Madera
30 |
| Belridge
27 |
Delano
29 |
North Bakersfield
30 |
Orosi
28 |
| Orange Cove
29 |
Lindcove
28 |
Lindcove Hillside
31 |
Sanger River Bottom
26 |
| Root creek
28 |
Venice Hill
28 |
Rosedale
29 |
Jasmine
28 |
| Arvin
30 |
Lamont
30 |
Plainview
28 |
Mettler
28 |
| Edison
31 |
Maricopa
28 |
Holland Creek
31 |
Tivy Valley
28 |
| Kite Road South
31 |
Kite Road North
28 |
AF=Above Freezing
Actual Humidity Range Yesterday: Delano, 90%/51% Porterville, 100%/53%. Midafternoon dew points: Upper 20s the lower 30s.. Kern: Mid to upper 20s.
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 90%, tomorrow 90%. Bakersfield: Today: 50%/. Tomorrow, 80%.
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford .53, Parlier .53, Arvin 66, Orange Cove .49, Porterville .44, Delano .44. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford, 51, Parlier 49, Arvin, 50, Orange Cove 48, Porterville 48, Delano 46. *=data missing.
Average Temperatures: 58/39. Record Temperatures: 74/26
Heating Degree Days This Season. 1493 -117, Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno, 5.21 or -.23. Monthly ..00 -.07
Precipitation for Bakersfield, Season, 3.56 or +.48. Month to date .00 -.04
Average Temperature this month: 45.5, -2.5Taken NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Orange Cove, 720, Parlier, 839, Arvin, 702, Belridge, 774, Shafter, 751, Stratford, 851, Delano, 830, Porterville, 852 courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise. 6:59, Sunset, 5:27, hours of daylight, 10:26
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 57 / 32 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 54 / 28 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 55 / 37 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 57 / 30 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 57 / 33 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 52 / 40 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 56 / 35 / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 54 / 37 / 0.00 /
CLIMATE STATION TOTAL 2022 PON 2021 PON NORMAL NORMAL
STOCKTON 0.00 8.21 113 5.90 81 7.26 13.45
MODESTO 0.00 8.15 126 5.44 84 6.48 12.27
MERCED 0.00 5.85 97 5.61 93 6.02 11.80
MADERA 0.00 9999187598 1.05 20 5.33 10.79
FRESNO 0.00 5.21 96 4.82 88 5.45 10.99
HANFORD 0.00 4.61 114 3.03 75 4.04 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 3.56 114 1.72 55 3.12 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 4.50 181 1.30 52 2.49 4.84
SALINAS 0.00 6.11 91 4.40 66 6.70 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.00 7.34 118 5.93 95 6.23 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.00 6.26 96 5.90 90 6.54 13.32
Next report: February 2 PM