December 9, 2023
Summary: After a frosty, and in some cases foggy, start to our day, the last of the low clouds have dissipated from Tulare County with visibilities ranging from 5 miles at Bakersfield to 10 miles at Madera. Through Wednesday, we will go through a routine of areas of fog nights and morning and widespread below freezing temperatures. Upper level high pressure remain anchored roughly 600 miles off the southern California coast. Central California is flanked by the eastern side of the high which is maintaining a northwest flow aloft. The freezing level taken over Vandenburg AFB today was 13,300 feet, illustrating the warm air inversion now clamping down on the valley. By the middle of next week, the high will build northward along the Pacific coast as a weak trough of low pressure develops over the Great Basin. This will eventually result in a cut off low over Arizona. This will generate an off shore flow over California, warming highs into the mid 60s by Wednesday and possibly pushing the 70 degree mark by next weekend. It’s also possible the fog could gain a stronger foothold than I currently believe, but with dry soil conditions, that seems doubtful at this time. Some of the medium range models are pointing to a possible change around the 20, but for now, we’ll stick with a dry forecast and deal with the fog morning by morning.
Forecast: Other than areas of night and morning fog and low clouds, it will be mostly clear and hazy through Tuesday with high clouds. Mostly clear with patchy night and morning fog and low clouds Tuesday through Saturday, otherwise mostly clear and hazy.
Short Term:
| Madera 29/62/29/63 | Reedley 29/63/29/63 | Dinuba 27/61/28/62 |
| Porterville 28/62/28/63 | Lindsay 27/62/27/63 | Delano 30/63/29/63 |
| Bakersfield 34/62/34/63 | Taft 39/59/42/58 | Arvin 30/63/30/63 |
| Lamont 31/62/30/63 | Pixley 29/63/29/63 | Tulare 27/61/27/62 |
| Woodlake 28/61/28/62 | Hanford 30/63/29/63 | Orosi 28/62/28/63 |
Winds: Winds will be generally at or less than 6 mph with periods of near calm conditions through Sunday.
Rain: Expect dry conditions for at least the next 10 days.
Frost: The last of the low clouds and fog had dissipated over Tulare County as of the time of this writing. Dew points are a little lower, generally ranging in the upper 30s to the lower 40s. with mostly clear skies tonight, another strong radiational frost event will occur. Coldest locations will again fall into the 26 to 28 degree range. Most flat terrain locations will drop to 28 to 31 degrees with hillsides above freezing. The inversion tonight will be decent with temperatures at 34 feet being 5 to 8 degrees warmer at most locations. Expect similar conditions Sunday through Monday morning. After Wednesday, afternoon highs will begin to move into the mid to upper 60s. This will begin to drag up overnight lows as well with all but the coldest locations remaining in the 30s beginning Thursday morning. Even though some medium range models are indicating a possible change beginning around the 20th, none suggest a particularly cold pattern.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella 29 | Porterville 28 | Ivanhoe 27 | Woodlake 28 |
| Strathmore 28 | McFarland 27 | Ducor 30 | Tea pot dome 29 |
| Lindsay 27 | Exeter 27 | Famoso 29 | Madera 29 |
| Belridge 28 | Delano 30 | North Bakersfield 30 | Orosi 28 |
| Orange cove 29 | Lindcove 27 | Lindcove Hillside af | Sanger river bottom 26 |
| Root creek 27 | Venice hill 29 | Rosedale 29 | Jasmine 29 |
| Arvin 30 | Lamont 30 | Plainview 28 | Mettler 30 |
| Edison 31 | Maricopa 31 | Holland creek 31 | Tivy Valley 28 |
| Kite Road South 31 | Kite Road North 28 |
AF=Above Freezing