April 16, 2022
As of the time of this writing, light showers had spread as far south as northern Tulare County along the east side of the valley. A rain shadow is evident along the west side as the moist air mass descends on the lee side of the coast range. The weather system currently moving through is a fast mover, so precipitation amounts, even from Fresno north, will be quite light. It’s possible Kern County may not receive any measurable precipitation at all due to the rain shadow and the fact that Kern County is slightly south of the main dynamics. The chance of showers will begin to decrease later this afternoon as the storm races eastward into the interior west. The pattern we’ve been under for the past week with a low off the coast of the Pacific Northwest with a strong westerly component into California will continue. The next system to ride this flow will spread showers over northern California Tuesday. This system is weaker and will likely spread showers no further south than a Bay Area/Stockton line. Our best chance of rain next week will arrive late Thursday into Friday. In fact, this system may actually spread showers as far south as southern California as the low moves inland. After Friday, a stronger high will build over the eastern Pacific and much of the western US for a possible period of prolonged dry weather with a warming trend.
Forecast: Periods of light showers through midafternoon north of Kern County with a chance of sprinkles in Kern County. Partly cloudy tonight. Mostly clear Sunday through Monday night but remaining mostly cloudy in Kern County through Sunday morning. Partly cloudy Tuesday and Tuesday night. Mostly clear Wednesday and Wednesday night. Increasing cloudiness Thursday with periods of rain late Thursday and Friday. Partly cloudy Friday night and Saturday.
Short Term:
| Madera 70/41/78/42/80 | Reedley 72/42/79/43/81 | Dinuba 71/41/79/42/80 |
| Porterville 73/43/79/44/81 | Lindsay 72/40/79/43/80 | Delano 72/45/79/45/79 |
| Bakersfield 73/48/78/51/82 | Taft 70/51/76/54/78 | Arvin 73/45/79/46/81 |
| Lamont 73/44/79/47/80 | Pixley 71/41/78/43/80 | Tulare 71/40/78/43/79 |
| Woodlake 72/42/79/43/80 | Hanford 73/44/78/45/81 | Orosi 71/40/79/43/79 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Tuesday
Partly cloudy 45/80 |
Wednesday
Mostly clear 45/78 |
Thursday
PM rain 45/77 |
Friday
Showers likely 45/75 |
Saturday
Partly cloudy 41/69 |
Two Week Outlook: April 22 through April 28: This model shows a northwest flow in the upper atmosphere maintaining near to marginally below average temperatures. The storm track will remain mainly in the Pacific Northwest and northern California, so the chance of rain remains low.
April: April is a transition month as we move from springtime weather to early summer weather at the end of the month. This model indicates above average temperatures over the southern half of the Golden State with near average temperatures over northern and central California. Precipitation will range below average.
April, May, June: This model shows above average temperatures over the Desert Southwest, stretching westward to California. With high pressure generally in control, expect below average precipitation…which doesn’t mean much now that we’re headed into the dry season.
Wind Discussion: Winds during the night and morning hours will be generally at or less than 7 mph with periods of near calm conditions through Tuesday. During the afternoon and early evening hours, winds will be mainly out of the northwest at 5 to 15 mph with locally stronger gusts.
Rain: Looking at Doppler radar at this hour and we see a fairly decent rain shadow along the west side. Light showers are regenerating on the east side of the valley, mainly from Fresno County north. The main energy with this storm is running from west to east just north of Kern County, so it’s possible no measurable rain will occur over portions of the south valley. This is a fast mover and will move into the Great Basin by late afternoon, ending any further chance of precip. The next system will pass to our north Tuesday so our best chance of rain will occur next Thursday and Friday as a large low moves into the western US, spreading precipitation possibly even into southern California. After Friday, a large high will begin to build inland for what may begin a prolonged period of dry weather. Rainfall amounts from the current system will be light with no more than trace amounts in Kern County. Most locations north of the Kern County line will receive no more than .10, possibly locally more in Merced County.
Frost: All locations will be above freezing tonight and each night for the foreseeable future.
Actual Humidity Range Yesterday: Delano, 83%/34% Porterville, 89%/29%. Midafternoon dew points: Low to mid 40s. Kern: Low to mid 40s.
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 30%, tomorrow 80%. Bakersfield: Today: 40%/. Tomorrow, 50%.
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford 1.67, Parlier 1.30, Arvin 1.56, Orange Cove 1.33, Porterville .1.26, Delano 1.30. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford, 57, Parlier 63, Arvin, 65, Orange Cove 61, Porterville 67, Delano 61. *=data missing.
Average Temperatures: 74/48. Record Temperatures: 95/35
Cooling Degree Days This Season. 45 +27. Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno, 5.99 or -3.85. Monthly .00 -.63
Precipitation for Bakersfield, Season, 5.01 or -.76. Monthly, -.36
Average Temperature this month: 62.5 +2.5 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. 6:22, Sunset, 7:35, hours of daylight, 13:11
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 77 / 56 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 76 / 55 / T /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 76 / 59 / T /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 76 / 57 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 78 / 55 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 74 / 57 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 75 / 56 / T /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 74 / 54 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: 24h Seas % LY % Ave 365
STOCKTON 0.02 9.10 74 7.84 64 12.26 13.45
MODESTO 0.00 8.78 80 7.12 65 11.01 12.27
MERCED 0.00 6.71 63 6.97 66 10.63 11.80
MADERA 0.00 1.71 18 1.55 16 9.77 10.79
FRESNO 0.00 5.99 61 6.44 65 9.84 10.99
HANFORD 0.00 5.80 79 4.13 56 7.37 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 5.01 87 2.58 45 5.77 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 4.75 118 1.62 40 4.04 4.84
SALINAS 0.00 6.91 59 5.70 49 11.70 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.00 8.48 74 6.73 59 11.45 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.00 7.40 59 6.86 55 12.46 13.32
Next report: April 18
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.