January 30, 2023
Skies have cleared over the northern 2/3 of the valley as of midday. Mostly cloudy conditions still prevail over much of Tulare and Kern Counties. The center of circulation of the cold core low is now west of San Diego and will shift over northern Baja Tuesday. A ridge of upper level high pressure is building into the Pacific Northwest and northern California. The combination of this high and the low west of San Diego has created a northeast flow aloft. This will lead to subfreezing weather tonight and again tomorrow night. Fortunately, lows will not approach critical levels. The northeast flow will quickly turn westerly late Wednesday and Thursday as a weak trough of low pressure approaches the coast. The trough will move inland Friday, resulting in a chance of light showers, mainly from Fresno County north. There’s a second shot at precipitation as a closed low moves in from the west Sunday. Neither of these two systems will have significant dynamics so what precipitation does occur will be light.
Forecast: Mostly clear north of Kern and Tulare Counties this evening. Gradual clearing in Tulare and Kern Counties overnight. Mostly clear Tuesday through Wednesday night with areas of night and morning fog and low clouds. Increasing cloudiness Thursday leading to a chance of light showers Friday, mainly from Fresno County north. Partly cloudy Friday night through Saturday. increasing cloudiness Saturday night leading to a chance of light shower Sunday and Sunday night. Partly cloudy Monday.
Temperatures:
| Madera 28/55/30/60 | Reedley 29/55/30/61 | Dinuba 28/54/30/59 |
| Porterville 29/55/30/60 | Lindsay 28/55/30/59 | Delano 29/55/31/61 |
| Bakersfield 35/54/34/61 | Taft 34/52/35/59 | Arvin 32/55/33/60 |
| Lamont 31/55/32/61 | Pixley 28/54/30/61 | Tulare 27/54/29/60 |
| Woodlake 28/55/30/61 | Hanford 29/54/30/61 | Orosi 28/55/29/59 |
Wind Discussion: Winds will be generally at or less than 6 mph and variable in nature through Thursday with periods of near calm conditions.
Rain: There will be two opportunities for light precipitation this week. the first will be Friday as a weak trough of low pressure moves in from the west. What precipitation does occur will be mainly from Fresno County north. The second opportunity will arrive Sunday as a closed low moves in from the west. This event will also be mainly from Fresno County north with mainly light showers. The first several days of next week appear dry.
Frost: Skies have cleared over the northern 2/3 of the valley. Cloud cover is draped over Kern and Tulare Counties as Kern County remains on the northern edge of a low west of San Diego. The big question in my mind for tonight is cloud cover. It’s possible upslope clouds may have an affect for much of the night, mainly in Kern County but possibly parts of Tulare County, as well. However, drier air will erode cloud cover, but it’s difficult to tell how much. For this forecast, I will operate under the assumption that most of the cloud cover will be gone by the early morning hours, allowing for a strong radiational freeze event tonight. River bottom and similar locations could potentially drop to 26 to 27 with most flat terrain areas ranging from 28 to 32 with hillsides slightly above freezing. The inversion tonight will be moderate with temperatures at 34 feet ranging from 4 to 7 degrees warmer.
For Wednesday morning, upper 20s and lower 30s will again be commonplace. The northeast flow currently in place will quickly turn westerly as a trough of low pressure approaches from the west. Cloud cover will be on the increase Thursday with most locations in the low to mid 30s. cloud cover and a chance of showers will keep temperatures above freezing Friday. Expect above freezing conditions to continue through the weekend.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
28 |
Ivanhoe
28 |
Woodlake
29 |
| Strathmore
29 |
McFarland
28 |
Ducor
30 |
Tea Pot Dome
29 |
| Lindsay
28 |
Exeter
28 |
Famoso
29 |
Madera
30 |
| Belridge
28 |
Delano
29 |
North Bakersfield
29 |
Orosi
29 |
| Orange Cove
30 |
Lindcove
28 |
Lindcove Hillside
af |
Sanger River Bottom
27 |
| Root Creek
28 |
Venice Hill
29 |
Rosedale
30 |
Jasmine
29 |
| Arvin
32 |
Lamont
31 |
Plainview
29 |
Mettler
30 |
| Edison
33 |
Maricopa
30 |
Holland Creek
32 |
Tivy Valley
29 |
| Kite Road South
32 |
Kite Road North
29 |
AF=Above Freezing
Next report: January 31 morning
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.