March 9, 2022
A large ridge of upper level high pressure covers the eastern Pacific Ocean off shore and is ridging as far north as southern Alaska. A cold trough of low pressure is diving southward through eastern Washington and Oregon and will settle into the Great Basin Thursday. California will be on the far western rim of this trough, giving a chance of snow showers over the Sierra Nevada with even a chance of a few sprinkles over the valley floor Thursday and Thursday night. The main impact of this system will be a short lived cooling trend which will reverse Friday. The off shore ridge will push into California Friday and Saturday, driving temperatures into the low to mid 70s over the weekend. The high will begin to flatten out Sunday night as a west to east flow sets sup across the eastern Pacific and into the Pacific Northwest and northern California. The first in a series of storms will spread showers into Washington and Oregon and parts of northern California Sunday. A stronger trough will quickly move inland Monday night and Tuesday. This will be our best chance at receiving measurable precipitation. Upper level high pressure will try to nose in from the southwest next Thursday and Friday as the main rain line again shifts into the Pacific Northwest.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through tonight. Variable clouds Thursday and Thursday night with a slight chance of sprinkles. Mostly clear and warmer Friday through Sunday. Partly cloudy Sunday night. Variable cloudiness Monday through Wednesday with a chance of light showers, mainly Tuesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 70/38/66/33/71 | Reedley 71/38/67/33/70 | Dinuba 70/37/67/32/71 |
| Porterville 71/39/67/33/70 | Lindsay 70/37/67/32/70 | Delano 72/40/66/35/71 |
| Bakersfield 72/44/62/39/71 | Taft 69/47/61/44/68 | Arvin 72/40/62/37/71 |
| Lamont 71/41/62/35/71 | Pixley 70/37/64/33/70 | Tulare 70/36/63/33/71 |
| Woodlake 70/38/67/33/70 | Hanford 72/40/67/34/72 | Orosi 71/37/64/32/70 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Saturday
Mostly clear 36/71 |
Sunday
Mostly clear 37/74 |
Monday
Increasing clouds 40/73 |
Tuesday
Chance of showers 43/75 |
Wednesday
Partly cloudy 43/72 |
Two Week Outlook: March 16 through March 23 Upper level high pressure will build into the western ¼ of the US, resulting in a period of dry weather with temperatures rising to above average.
March: The 30 day outlook for the month of March really does not show much guidance for either precipitation or temperatures. Essentially what it says is near average temperatures with near average precipitation.
March, April, May: The March, April, May period moves us into the traditional beginning of the dry season. This model is showing below average precipitation for most of the state. Guidance is fairly flat as far as temperatures are concerned as it indicates near average temperatures.
Wind Discussion: Winds today and tonight will be generally at or less than 8 mph and variable in nature. Winds late Wednesday through Thursday will occasionally be out of the northwest at 8 to 15 mph. Gusts to 25 mph will be possible, mainly along the far west side. Light winds will return Friday and Saturday.
Rain: A few sprinkles will be possible Thursday as a fast moving weather system dives southward through the Great Basin. Models this morning show the far western side of this low clipping California with showers over the Sierra Nevada and just a small chance of sprinkles over the valley floor. Friday through Monday will be dry then the westerlies will break through early next week, steering Pacific storms through the Pacific Northwest and northern California. One such system will move a trough through central California Tuesday. The main dynamics will be in northern California. However, light showers could spread into the valley Tuesday into Wednesday. The pattern will remain active north of us beyond Wednesday with possibly another shot at precipitation by late next weekend.
Frost: All locations will be above 32 degrees tonight. Temperatures will fall back into the low to mid 30s Friday morning due to a relatively cold air mass swinging in behind a weather system that may bring a few sprinkles Thursday. Coldest readings Friday morning will likely be no colder than 30 or 31 with most locations being between 31 and 37. The air mass will quickly modify as a ridge of high pressure builds in from the west, driving daytime highs into the 70s this weekend with lows mainly in the mid 30s to near 40. A westerly flow will develop into California for much of next week, keeping temperatures above freezing.
Actual Humidity range Yesterday: Delano, 91%/30% Porterville, 100%/45%. Midafternoon dew points: Low to mid 30s. Kern: Low to mid 30s.
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 100%, tomorrow 80%. Bakersfield: Today: 100%/. Tomorrow, 100%.
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford .76, Parlier .71, Arvin .83, Orange Cove .68, Porterville .71, Delano .78. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford, 52, Parlier 57, Arvin, 55, Orange Cove 54, Porterville 54, Delano 51. *=data missing.
Average Temperatures: 66/44. Record Temperatures: 86/32
Heating Degree Days This Season. 1960 -98. Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno, 5.43 or -2.39. Monthly .11 -.33
Precipitation for Bakersfield, Season, 4.35 or -.23. Monthly, .68 +.36
Average Temperature this month: 56.2 -2.2 Taken NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Orange Cove, 973, Parlier, 1129, Arvin, 953, Belridge, 1016, Shafter, 934 Stratford, 1116, Delano, 1113, Porterville, 1157. courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise. 6:17, Sunset, 6:02, hours of daylight, 11:43
Yesterday’s weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 65 / 36 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 65 / 36 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 64 / 44 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 64 / 35 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 66 / 33 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 65 / 47 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 63 / 39 / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 63 / 36 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: 24h Seas % LY % Ave 365
STOCKTON 0.00 8.21 80 6.92 68 10.22 13.45
MODESTO 0.00 8.17 89 6.38 70 9.14 12.27
MERCED 0.00 5.88 68 5.92 68 8.66 11.80
MADERA 0.00 M M M M M 10.79
FRESNO 0.00 5.43 69 5.11 65 7.82 10.99
HANFORD 0.00 5.29 91 3.05 52 5.84 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 4.35 95 1.81 40 4.58 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 4.50 127 1.61 46 3.53 4.84
SALINAS 0.00 6.26 65 4.78 50 9.63 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.00 7.37 79 5.98 64 9.34 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.00 6.35 63 6.08 61 10.03 13.32
Next report: March 9 PM
At John Hibler Weather Forecasting, it is our goal to provide the most accurate forecasts available. Weather forecasting, unlike any other business, invites errors. Weather, by nature, is chaotic. It is our goal to be as accurate as humanly possible.