December 13, 2022
Most of the lower level clouds this morning are over Kern County as upslope clouds continue to regenerate along the north facing slopes of the Tehachapi. Most of the rest of the valley has cleared out with temperatures falling into the lower 30s at many locations. As the weakening storm continues to pull away, upper level high pressure will slowly build in from the west. The air above the valley floor remains cold. The balloon sound above Oakland earlier this morning indicated a freezing level of 4,600 feet, up just a tad from yesterday. Skies should be mostly clear tonight over the entire district. This will allow temperatures to drop into the upper 20s to the lower 30s. fog will no doubt become more of a problem in the days ahead as high pressure will cap the valley, allowing the warm air inversion to develop. The only feature of note for later this week is an upper low which at one time we thought might bring a chance of showers this weekend. However, latest models are showing this feature moving southward too far off shore to affect central California. In fact, it now appears we will enjoy a period of dry weather through at least Christmas, barring anything unforeseen.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through Thursday with the exception of mostly cloudy skies over Kern County later this morning. Mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy with areas of night and morning fog and low clouds Wednesday night through Tuesday.
Temperatures:
| Madera 52/29/53/29/52 | Reedley 51/30/52/29/51 | Dinuba 52/29/53/29/53 |
| Porterville 51/29//52/29/51 | Lindsay 51/28/52/28/52 | Delano 54/30/54/30/51 |
| Bakersfield 52/35/52/34/53 | Taft 50/35/51/36/53 | Arvin 52/33/53/33/52 |
| Lamont 53/32/53/33/52 | Pixley 52/29/53/29/53 | Tulare 51/28/53/28/53 |
| Woodlake 52/28/53/29/51 | Hanford 53/30/53/31/53 | Orosi 52/29/53/28/51 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Friday
AM fog/PM sun 32/53 |
Saturday
AM fog/PM sun 31/54 |
Sunday
AM fog/PM sun 32/56 |
Monday
AM fog/PM sun 32/54 |
Tuesday
AM fog/PM sun 33/54 |
Two Week Outlook: December 20 through December 26: This model is now indicating that a ridge of upper level high pressure will dominate our pattern during this time frame. The chance of precipitation will be low with near average temperatures.
December: This model shows above average temperatures from the Desert Southwest through the southern half of California, including the valley. Precipitation is forecast to be above average in the Pacific Northwest and northern California and near average in central California.
December, January, February: This model predicts above average temperatures for most of California eastward all the way through the southeastward US with below average precipitation for much of California and the Desert Southwest while above average rainfall will occur over the Pacific Northwest eastward to the Great Lakes. This would be a pretty typical La Nina winter pattern.
Wind Discussion: Winds during the late morning and afternoons will be variable to 6 mph with periods of near calm conditions. Winds during the night and early morning hours will be light with periods of calm conditions through Friday.
Rain: Expect dry conditions for at least the next 7 to 10 days.
Frost: As of 5:30 am, the coldest temperatures I could find were 30 degrees at Sanger, Fowler, and Porterville. Most of the valley was in the low to mid 30s this morning with above freezing conditions in Kern County due to cloud cover. For Wednesday through Friday morning, expect lows generally in the upper 20s to the lower 30s. Coldest river bottom or similar locations will drop down to 26 to 27 for short durations. The inversion tonight will be weak with temperatures at 34 feet generally ranging from 3 to 6 degrees warmer. As the weak wears on, the pattern will become more conducive for fog and low clouds. However, if recent years are a barometer, the fog may have a difficult time getting started. A warm air inversion will begin to develop at midweek, though. I can remember the valley with little to no sunshine for weeks at a time in the winter. I have my own theory why this doesn’t seem to be the case in receive years.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
28 |
Ivanhoe
28 |
Woodlake
29 |
| Strathmore
29 |
McFarland
28 |
Ducor
30 |
Tea Pot Dome
28 |
| Lindsay
27 |
Exeter
27 |
Famoso
30 |
Madera
29 |
| Belridge
28 |
Delano
29 |
North Bakersfield
30 |
Orosi
28 |
| Orange Cove
29 |
Lindcove
28 |
Lindcove Hillside
af |
Sanger River Bottom
26 |
| Root creek
27 |
Venice Hill
28 |
Rosedale
30 |
Jasmine
30 |
| Arvin
af |
Lamont
af |
Plainview
29 |
Mettler
32 |
| Edison
af |
Maricopa
30 |
Holland Creek
33 |
Tivy Valley
28 |
| Kite Road South
33 |
Kite Road North
28 |
AF=Above Freezing
Actual Humidity Range Yesterday: Delano, 95%/63% Porterville, 96%/62%
Midafternoon dew points: Low to mid 40s. Kern: Low to mid 40s.
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today 60% tomorrow 70% Bakersfield: Today 40% tomorrow 70%
ET for the past seven days: Stratford, .35, Parlier, .30 Arvin .43 Porterville .32 Delano .30
Soil temperatures: Stratford 57, Parlier 52 Arvin 54 Porterville .50, Delano 49 *=data missing.
Sky cover: Visalia 80% today, tomorrow 90% Bakersfield 90% today tomorrow 90%,
Average of the past seven days soil temperatures: Stratford 58, Parlier 54, Arvin 58, Porterville 52, Delano 50 *=data missing.
Soil Temperatures:
Average Temperatures: 55/37 Record Temperatures: 72/23
Heating Degree Days This Season. 693 +35 Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno 3.23, 163% of average, Monthly 2.57
Precipitation for Bakersfield: Season: .1.10, 96% of average, Monthly: .44
Average Temperature This Month: 50.2 +3.2 Taken NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st Through February 28: Orange Cove 315, Parlier 425 Arvin 316 , Belridge 366, Shafter 386, Stratford 385, Delano 400, Porterville 403 courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise 7:04, Sunset, 4:44, hours of daylight, 9:41
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 55 / 35 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 54 / 34 / T /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 54 / 37 / T /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 54 / 34 / T /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 54 / 34 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 53 / 38 / T /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 54 / 33 / T /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 54 / 33 / T /
Rainfall totals from October 1st through September 30th
SEAS. % LY % AVE YEAR
STOCKTON 0.01 4.47 151 4.76 160 2.97 13.45
MODESTO T 4.48 187 3.84 160 2.40 12.27
MERCED 0.04 3.77 163 2.22 96 2.31 11.80
MADERA T 2.04 102 0.69 35 2.00 10.79
FRESNO 0.02 3.25 163 1.98 99 2.00 10.99
HANFORD 0.05 2.34 155 1.56 103 1.51 8.13
BAKERSFIELD T 1.10 96 1.10 96 1.15 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 2.15 256 0.78 93 0.84 4.84
DEATH VALLEY NP 0.00 0.03 10 M M 0.30 2.20
SALINAS 0.08 3.77 143 2.36 89 2.64 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.06 4.34 210 1.74 84 2.07 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.31 3.27 142 1.55 67 2.31 13.32
Next report: December 13 afternoon
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.