May 9, 2022
Temperatures for the next 72 hours will run anywhere from 10 to 15 below average. A very cold upper low is located off the northwest California coast this morning with a mostly dry trough of low pressure extending southward into central and southern California. The balloon sounding above Oakland this morning pegged the freezing level at 3,700 feet. At the surface, low pressure covers the interior west. Sharp differences in pressure continue between the coast and the interior. The temperature this morning at Sandberg at an elevation of 4,100 feet was down to 32 degrees. Coldest locations on the valley floor over the next couple of nights will dip into the mid to upper 30s. The upper low off the northwest California coast will slide southward over central California Tuesday night and Wednesday. There may be enough buoyancy to the atmosphere to trigger light showers and possibly isolated thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada. But for now, it appears the valley will remain dry. The trough will begin to shift eastward Thursday, allowing a strong ridge of upper level high pressure to begin to build into central California. Temperatures will move into the 80s beginning Sunday and the mid to upper 90s by Monday. I’m not ready to mention the century mark as of yet, but it may be a close call early next week.
Forecast: Mostly clear to possibly occasionally partly cloudy through Wednesday. Mostly clear Wednesday night through Monday with a warming trend.
Short Term:
| Madera 67/39/67/38/70 | Reedley 69/40/67/40/70 | Dinuba 68/38/67/40/71 |
| Porterville 68/38/68/38/69 | Lindsay 67/36/68/36/69 | Delano 69/39/68/39/69 |
| Bakersfield 69/45/6844/68 | Taft 65/47/65/48/67 | Arvin 69/42/67/42/71 |
| Lamont 70/43/69/43/70 | Pixley 67/39/68/38/69 | Tulare 67/37/68/37/69 |
| Woodlake 68/38/68/38/69 | Hanford 69/40/67/41/71 | Orosi 67/37/67/36/70 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Thursday
Mostly clear 40/70 |
Friday
Mostly clear 43/77 |
Saturday
Mostly clear 50/84 |
Sunday
Mostly clear 56/93 |
Monday
Mostly clear 57/97 |
Two Week Outlook: May 16 through May 22: This model is indicating a ridge of high pressure will govern the weather during this time frame, resulting in somewhat above average temperatures with generally dry conditions prevailing.
May: This model shows a dominant high stretching from Texas to southern California, resulting in somewhat above average temperatures for the month. It also gives an equal chance of above or below normal precipitation.
May, June, July: This model shows an early season high over the Four Corners region of the desert southwest, stretching westward to California, causing temperatures as we head into summer to be marginally above average. Since this is the dry season, the chances of precipitation will be very low
Wind Discussion: Winds through Wednesday will be mainly out of the northwest at 10 to 20 mph with stronger gusts. Winds Thursday will be generally at or less than 12 mph with periods of near calm conditions, mainly during the night and morning hours.
Rain: There is a chance of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada Wednesday and Wednesday evening. For now, we’ll go with a dry forecast as the winds aloft will continue out of the west and then the northwest, pushing any storms towards the Owens Valley side of the range. After Wednesday, it appears dry weather will continue for the next week or so to possibly longer.
Frost: All locations will be above freezing tonight and each night for the foreseeable future.
Actual Humidity Range Yesterday: Delano, 70%/27% Porterville, 86%/23%. Midafternoon dew points: Low to mid 30s. Upper 20s to the lower 30s.
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 80%, tomorrow 80%. Bakersfield: Today: 80%/. Tomorrow, 70%.
ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days: Stratford 1.96, Parlier 1.73, Arvin 1.76, Orange Cove 1.86, Porterville 1.67, Delano 1.65. Courtesy University of California *=estimate, NA=not available.
Seven Day Soil Temperatures: Stratford, 61, Parlier 68, Arvin, 70, Orange Cove 68, Porterville 76, Delano 69. *=data missing.
Average Temperatures: 81/53. Record Temperatures: 101/39
Cooling Degree Days This Season. 74 +3. Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno, 6.29 or -4.09. Monthly .00 -.13
Precipitation for Bakersfield, Season, 5.40 or -.70. Monthly, .00 -.09
Average Temperature this month: 67.3 +0.8 Taken NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Orange Cove, Parlier, Arvin, Belridge, 1016, Shafter, Stratford, Delano, Porterville. Courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise. 5:56, Sunset, 7:55, hours of daylight, 13:58
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 69 / 43 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 70 / 41 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 71 / 47 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 73 / 46 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 73 / 43 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 72 / 45 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 71 / 45 / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 72 / 42 / 0.00 /
IYK : Inyokern AP 2455 : 72 / 49 / 0.00 /
MHV : Mojave AP 2785 : 63 / 41 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: 24h Seas % LY % Ave 365
- STOCKTON 00 9.75 76 7.88 61 12.87 13.45
- MODESTO 00 8.99 78 7.12 61 11.59 12.27
- MERCED 00 7.44 66 7.00 62 11.27 11.80
- MADERA 00 M M M M 10.26 10.79
- FRESNO 00 6.29 61 6.59 63 10.38 10.99
- HANFORD 00 6.34 82 4.29 55 7.76 8.13
- BAKERSFIELD 00 5.40 89 2.77 45 6.10 6.36
- BISHOP 00 4.75 114 1.62 39 4.17 4.84
- SALINAS 00 7.31 60 5.74 47 12.16 12.58
- PASO ROBLES 00 8.70 74 6.74 57 11.75 12.15
- SANTA MARIA 00 7.79 60 6.86 53 12.92 13.32
Next report: May 10
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.