December 28, 2023
Summary: An area of weak upper level high pressure is upwelling ahead of a trough of low pressure off shore. This will result in mostly clear to partly cloudy skies tonight. Areas of ground fog will also develop late tonight and early Friday morning. that off shore trough will begin to affect the valley by late Friday afternoon or Friday evening. Latest information this afternoon indicates the dynamics of the system all the way down the valley will be strong enough for a decent soaking. Rain will continue at times through Saturday then end by Saturday evening. This system will be followed by another, weaker trough which will actually split off shore. The stronger portion of the low will move inland through southern California and northern Baja, leaving central California unscathed. The next trough out there will again be strong enough for showers all the way down the valley Wednesday. This system also shows signs of moving towards southern California. Future model runs will be necessary to clarify the situation. The best course of action for now is to forecast a chance of showers Wednesday and Wednesday
Forecast: Partly cloudy tonight and Friday morning with areas of fog developing towards sunrise. Increasing cloudiness Friday afternoon. Rain at times Friday night and Saturday. A chance of showers Saturday evening. Partly cloudy later Saturday night through Tuesday. Increasing cloudiness Tuesday night. a chance of showers Wednesday into Thursday.
Short Term:
| Madera 41/68/45/58 | Reedley 42/69/46/59 | Dinuba 48/68/46/59 |
| Porterville 42/70/46/61 | Lindsay 40/69/46/60 | Delano 43/70/47/60 |
| Bakersfield 47/71/48/61 | Taft 50/68/53/59 | Arvin 45/70/47/59 |
| Lamont 45/71/46/60 | Pixley 44/68/45/58 | Tulare 41/68/46/59 |
| Woodlake 42/68/45/59 | Hanford 43/69/46/60 | Orosi 40/68/45/58 |
Winds: Winds will generally be at or less than 6 mph with periods of near calm conditions through Friday. Winds Friday night and Saturday will be out of the east to southeast at 8 to 10 mph. Winds Sunday will be mainly out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph.
Rain: The next chance of rain will begin late Friday afternoon or Friday evening as an off shore trough of low pressure moves on shore. Once the rain begins, it will continue on and off through Saturday. Precipitation amounts should be pretty decent, ranging from around ,25 over the valley portion of Kern County to nearly .75 to as much as one-inch in Madera and Merced Counties. Much o Fresno County should pick up .33 to .50 with .25 to .50 in much of Tulare County. Dry weather will return Saturday and continue through Tuesday night of next week. the next trough of low pressure will move on shore Wednesday night into Thursday. Models so far are inconsistent on the strength of this system, but a chance of showers is likely.
Frost: All locations will be above freezing through Monday morning. we may see temperatures drop back into the 30s Tuesday and Wednesday mornings as a moderately colder air mass overspreads the region. Thursday will be above freezing due to cloud cover. Still nothing showing up that would suggest anything abnormally cold longer term, although there is a pattern on the ninth and tenth that deserves watching as cold air plunges into the interior west. For now, it’s just on my watch list.