April 1, 2023 am
Today through Sunday will be the proverbial lull before the storm, in this case wind storm. Temporarily, the storm track is moving from northwest to southeast into the Pacific Northwest, resulting in a beautiful spring weekend for the valley. The jet stream will dive southward Sunday night and Monday. in fact, models place a 150 mph jet stream right over northern and central California, running north to south then eastward through southern California. In the meantime, an upper trough will extend from western Canada southward to the Great Basin. The bulk of the energy from this change will be from the Sierra Nevada eastward for a chance of snow showers over the high Sierra Monday and Monday night. A surface low will also carve out over the Great Basin, setting up significant differences in pressure between the coast and the interior. This will generate strong, gusty, northwesterly winds over many areas. Some models are spitting out wind gust speeds into the low 50 mph range along the west side and over the valley portion of Kern County Monday and Monday evening. The combination of a colder air mass and strong winds will drive down dew points which, theoretically, will cause temperatures to drop into the low to mid 30s Tuesday through Thursday mornings, possibly even colder in low lying wind sheltered locations. The trough will move eastward Tuesday through Friday, resulting in quiet weather with a warming trend with temperatures pushing into the low 70s by Friday or Saturday. Low 70s seems warm, however, readings have been below average for so long it almost seems out of the ordinary. However, average temperatures for this time of year are right around the 70 degree mark.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through Sunday. Partly cloudy Sunday night through Tuesday. Expect strong, gusty, northwest winds late Sunday night through Monday evening. Mostly clear skies Tuesday night through Saturday.
Temperatures:
| Madera 66/38/67/42/57 | Reedley 67/39/67/41/57 | Dinuba 65/38/66/41/58 |
| Porterville 67/39/66/42/58 | Lindsay 66/37/66/42/57 | Delano 67/41/66/43/66 |
| Bakersfield 65/43/66/45/67 | Taft 66/47/66/44/56 | Arvin 67/41/67/42/58 |
| Lamont 68/41/68/43/57 | Pixley 66/39/67/41/57 | Tulare 65/38/66/41/57 |
| Woodlake 66/39/68/42/57 | Hanford 67/41/68/43/58 | Orosi 66/39/67/40/57 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Tuesday
Partly cloudy 32/57 |
Wednesday
Mostly clear 34/61 |
Thursday
Mostly clear 37/65 |
Friday
Mostly clear 41/68 |
Saturday
Mostly clear 43/71 |
Two Week Outlook: April 8 through April 14: This model continues to show the reversal of the dominant winter/spring pattern with upper level high pressure dominating the western US and eastern Pacific Ocean. This will result in above average temperatures and dry conditions.
April: This model is showing a dominant westerly flow during the month, resulting in below average temperatures. The main storm track will be through the Pacific Northwest and the northern one-fourth of California. Central California is just south of that zone with predicted near average precipitation.
April, May, June: The 90 day outlook calls for generally near to below average precipitation as we head into the dry season. The model doesn’t swing in either direction regarding temperatures, calling for near average temperatures.
Wind Discussion: Winds today through Sunday will be mainly out of the northwest at 5 to 12 mph late this morning through the afternoon. Winds tonight will be generally at or less than 7 mph with periods of near calm conditions. Winds will begin to increase Sunday night, mainly after midnight, at 10 to 20 mph. Monday and Monday night will be extremely windy with winds out of the northwest averaging 15 to 35 mph. However, along the west side and over the valley portion of Kern County, wind gusts topping 50 mph would not be a total shock. Winds will decrease Monday night and Tuesday to around 10 to 20 mph. winds Tuesday night and beyond will be generally at or less than 15 mph late mornings and afternoons and less than 6 mph nights and mornings with periods of near calm conditions.
Rain Discussion: Expect dry conditions for the next week to ten days.
Frost Discussion. All locations will be above freezing Sunday and Monday mornings. We have a spring frost situation coming up Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and, to a lesser extent, Thursday morning. The combination of a north/south jet stream over California and strong winds Monday and Monday night will likely drive dew points down into the 20s. Widespread low to mid 30s are expected Tuesday and Wednesday. There is a chance that, if we see clear skies, calm winds, etc., river bottom and other low spots could dip down to 27 to 29 on both mornings. At this juncture, it appears most locations will be between 30 and 35 degrees. The air mass will have moderated a tad by Thursday with most locations between 34 and 38 and coldest locations at 30 to 32. A warmer pattern will move in over the weekend with above freezing temperatures. Beyond the weekend, a mild high pressure pattern will set in for no chance of frost.
Mid afternoon dew points: Low to mid 40s. Kern: Low to mid 40s.
ET for the past seven days: Stratford, .92, Parlier, .84, Arvin 85, Porterville .NA, Delano .93 Soil temperatures: Stratford 53, Parlier 55, Arvin 56, Porterville NA, Delano 56 *=data missing.
Average Temperatures: 70/46 Record Temperatures: 90/32
Heating Degree Days This Season. 2387 +135 Varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno 17.48, Monthly 4.00
Precipitation for Bakersfield: Season: 9.74, Monthly: 2.98
Average Temperature This Month 51.3 -5.5 Taken NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st Through February 28: Parlier 1306, Arvin 1115, Belridge 1204, Shafter 1230, Stratford 1277, Delano 1273, Porterville 1245 courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise 6:43, sunset, 7:22. hours of daylight, 12.36
Yesterday’s Weather: H L R
MCE : Merced 153 : DH1700 / 63 / 38 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera 253 : DH1700 / 64 / 38 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno Airport 333 : DH1700 / 65 / 41 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford Airport 242 : DH1700 / 66 / 37 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore Naval AS 234 : DH1700 / 66 / 34 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield Airport 496 : DH1700 / 65 / 41 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia Airport 292 : DH1700 / 64 / 39 / 0.00 /
ATEC1 : Avenal 787 : DHM / M / M / M /
PTV : Porterville Airport 442 : DH1700 / 59 / 37 / 0.00 /
TFTC1 : Taft 759 : DH1652 / 63 / 40 / 0.00 /
LOSC1 : Los Banos 120 : DH1600 / 63 / 40 / 0.00 /
STOCKTON 0.00 22.73 196 9.04 78 11.58 13.45
MODESTO 0.00 19.25 185 8.76 84 10.40 12.27
MERCED 0.00 20.04 201 6.69 67 9.96 11.80
MADERA 0.00 10.83 117 1.64 18 9.23 10.79
FRESNO 0.00 17.48 190 5.99 65 9.21 10.99
HANFORD 0.00 14.48 209 5.80 84 6.93 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 9.74 180 5.01 93 5.41 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 13.66 350 4.75 122 3.90 4.84
DEATH VALLEY NP 0.00 1.06 65 M M 1.62 2.20
SALINAS 0.00 13.70 124 6.87 62 11.09 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.00 20.51 186 8.48 77 11.05 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.00 23.18 195 7.40 62 11.86 13.32
Next report: April 2 am
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.