We will be out of the office the afternoon of Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day. We wish you the most blessed of holidays.
John and Trudy
December 24, 2022
Then one foggy Christmas eve is an appropriate phrase this year as all reporting stations with the exception of Bakersfield is reporting ¼ mile or less visibility. Even in Bakersfield, the fog is right off the deck. If we can get through tomorrow, the fog regime should finally end on Monday. in the meantime, upper level high pressure is centered off the northern Baja coastline with a ridge extending into the Pacific Northwest. That ridge will finally begin to break down Sunday and flatten out over the Pacific Northwest then completely break down by Monday evening. There’s a chance of rain as early as Monday night, especially from Fresno County north. However, Tuesday is still our target date for a return to wet weather. This whole series of storms next week have the potential to drop significant amounts of precipitation. estimates along the Sierra Nevada from today through New Year’s Eve, tally up to 3 to 4 inches with over an inch possible on the valley floor north of Kern County. These storms are of a mild origin so snow levels will be quite high, especially initially. There’s a chance of rain on any given day from Tuesday through Saturday as a powerful jet stream aims itself right at northern California. Even the two week outlook indicates a high probability of rain.
Forecast: Widespread dense fog this morning lifting into a low overcast this afternoon. Fog and low overcast will continue through Sunday with a better chance of clearing Sunday afternoon. Areas of fog Monday morning. Increasing cloudiness during the afternoon. A chance of rain Monday night. Rain likely at times Tuesday through Wednesday. A chance of showers at any time from Thursday through New Year’s Eve.
Temperatures:
| Madera 48/34/52/37/61 | Reedley 48/35/53/38/61 | Dinuba 47/33/48/39/61 |
| Porterville 50/33/48/38/62 | Lindsay 49/32/48/38/63 | Delano 51/35/53/40/63 |
| Bakersfield 53/40/58/43/65 | Taft 53/43/59/48/67 | Arvin 53/33/48/40/64 |
| Lamont 54/33/48/39/65 | Pixley 50/33/60/39/65 | Tulare 47/34/52/39/60 |
| Woodlake 49/33/55/38/61 | Hanford 48/34/55/38/60 | Orosi 49/33/48/39/61 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Tuesday
Rain likely 48/65 |
Wednesday
Showers likely 49/62 |
Thursday
Chance of showers 47/60 |
Friday
Chance of rain 46/69 |
Saturday
Chance of rain 45/58 |
Two Week Outlook: December 31 through January 6: the storm door will be wide open during this time frame as Pacific storms run generally from west to east into California. Temperatures will run marginally above average.
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 through Christmas night will be generally at or less than 5 mph with periods of near calm conditions. Winds Monday will be out of the south to southeast at 10 to 20 mph with stronger gusts, increasing to 15 to 20 mph Monday night and Tuesday. Localized strong winds are also possible in the extreme south valley during this period. The chance of these downslope winds developing is about 30% or so.
We will be out of the office the afternoon of Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day. We wish you the most blessed of holidays.
John and Trudy
Rain We will begin an extended period of on and off precipitation beginning possibly as early as Monday night. A series of lower latitude Pacific storms will move from west to east into California through New Year’s Day. Precipitation estimates for the valley floor are as much as an inch to an inch and a half along the east side of the valley from roughly Porterville north. Along the east side of Fresno and Kings Counties, upwards of one third of an inch is possible. The Kern County portion of the valley floor will be under its usual rain shadow with a quarter to a third of an inch being a plausible estimate. Heavy amounts of rain will tally up under the snow level along the Sierra Nevada with projected amounts of between 3 and 4 inches.
Frost: The citrus growers of Florida will have a busy night coming up as durations from 6 to 12 hours below freezing will hit them and durations or 2 to 4 hours of 27 or below is likely. Conditions locally are safe. It is possible a few locations could reach the freezing mark tonight with the typical cold spots possible reaching the upper 20s for brief durations. Much warmer temperatures will begin Monday as a series of lower latitude storms run from west to east across California from time to time.
Lows Tonight:
All locations will be above freezing tonight.
Actual Humidity Range Yesterday: Delano, 99%/84% Porterville, 100%/88%
Midafternoon dew points: Mid to upper 30s. Kern: Mid to upper 30s:
Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today 0% tomorrow 0% Bakersfield: Today 0% tomorrow 10%
ET for the past seven days: Stratford, .03, Parlier, .05 Arvin .16, Porterville .06 Delano .07
Soil temperatures: Stratford 54, Parlier 47 Arvin 51 Porterville .45, Delano 45 *=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: 54/36 Record Temperatures: 70/20
Heating Degree Days This Season. 931 +77 Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno 3.25 125% of average, Monthly 2.59
Precipitation for Bakersfield: Season: .1.10, 73% of average, Monthly: .44
Average Temperature This Month 45.7 -0.5 Taken NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st Through February 28: Orange Cove 476, Parlier 629 Arvin 496 Belridge 565, Shafter 583, Stratford 586, Delano 604, Porterville 602 courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise 7:10, Sunset, 4:49, hours of daylight, 9:39
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 47 / 37 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 49 / 35 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 49 / 35 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 45 / 35 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 45 / 40 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 53 / 32 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 42 / 36 / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 49 / 34 / 0.00 /
Rainfall totals from October 1st through September 30th
SEAS. % LY % AVE YEAR
STOCKTON 0.00 4.47 116 7.14 186 3.84 13.45
MODESTO 0.00 4.48 140 6.83 213 3.20 12.27
MERCED 0.00 3.77 125 4.45 148 3.01 11.80
MADERA 0.00 2.04 77 1.20 45 2.66 10.79
FRESNO 0.00 3.25 122 4.49 168 2.67 10.99
HANFORD 0.00 2.34 116 3.54 176 2.01 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 1.10 71 2.89 186 1.55 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 2.15 201 4.14 387 1.07 4.84
DEATH VALLEY NP 0.00 0.03 8 M M 0.40 2.20
SALINAS T 3.77 111 4.86 143 3.40 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.00 4.34 156 5.22 187 2.79 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.00 3.27 107 5.08 167 3.05 13.32
Next report: December 26
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.