December 28, 2023
Summary: Visibilities aren’t half bad, considering the time of year. Fresno and Madera are reporting a 10 mile visibility while Porterville is reporting 6 miles, Visalia 5, and Bakersfield 3. A temporary ridge of upper level high pressure is currently above central California but will shift eastward Friday ahead of a fairly robust trough of low pressure which will move inland Friday night and Saturday. This system has relatively decent upper air support and good dynamics, meaning precipitation will spread all the way down the valley with possibly significant amounts of rain, especially from Fresno County north. The pattern for the second half of the weekend is more complex. A low pressure system will split off shore with one portion moving into southern California while the other moves inland to our north. The chance of showers Sunday night and Monday is low and is mainly in Kern County. The next item on our agenda is another trough of low pressure which will move in Wednesday through Thursday of next week. this system also has fairly high potential for another decent rain event. Behind the Wednesday system, high pressure will begin to build in from the west for at least a couple of days of dry weather.
Forecast; Mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy today after patchy morning fog. Partly cloudy tonight with areas of fog before sunrise. Increasing cloudiness Friday leading to a chance of rain by sunset. Rain likely at times Friday night and Saturday. Partly to mostly cloudy skies Saturday night.. mostly cloudy Sunday and Sunday night with a slight chance of showers in Kern County. Partly cloudy New Year’s Day through Tuesday. Increasing cloudiness Tuesday night. periods of rain Wednesday into Thursday.
| Madera 67/41/67/45/58 | Reedley 68/42/69/46/60 | Dinuba 66/43/66/49/59 |
| Porterville 68/43/70/46/59 | Lindsay 69/41/69/45/61 | Delano 68/46/71/49/59 |
| Bakersfield 69/51/70/48/58 | Taft 65/54/66/52/56 | Arvin 70/45/67/46/60 |
| Lamont 69//45/67/46/58 | Pixley 67/44/67/46/58 | Tulare 66/43/69/46/58 |
| Woodlake 67/41/69/46/60 | Hanford 67/45/69/47/60 | Orosi 66/41/68/45/60 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Sunday Mostly cloudy 41/58 | Monday Partly cloudy 48/58 | Tuesday Increasing clouds 37/58 | Wednesday Chance of rain 42/58 | Thursday Chance of showers 35/56 |
Two Week Outlook: January 4 through January 10: This model shows a possible north to northwest flow developing for a possible trend of below average temperatures. There is a better than even chance that precipitation will occur during this period.
December: This model continues to favor above average temperatures during the month of December. There’s no trend either way for rainfall, so average amounts of precipitation is our forecast.
December, January, February: If this model has any credence, this winter will experience above average temperatures. This model also favors above average rainfall for the next 90 days.
Rain Discussion: The chance of rain will increase by sunset Friday afternoon. Periods of rain will spread down the valley Friday night and continue on and off through Saturday. A thunderstorm or two cannot be ruled out. Rainfall amounts from Friday night through Saturday night could be in the .50 to 1.00 category from Fresno northward into Merced County. Tulare county could see amounts in the .25 to .50 range and even Kern County could potentially do very well with amounts in the .10 to .33 range. Along the west side in western Kings and Fresno Counties .33 to .50 will be possible. Dry weather will return by sunset Saturday. There will be another slight chance of showers, mainly in Kern County Sunday night from a system moving into southern California. Another stronger Pacific storm will affect central California Wednesday and Thursday of next week. this system also could possibly result in more than an inch of precipitation from Fresno County north.
Frost Discussion: All locations will be above 32 degrees through at least Sunday morning. a cooler air mass will overspread the valley Monday and Tuesday of next week. however, with considerable amounts of cloud cover from time to time, temperatures will remain in the 30s. long range models going out from January 9 to January 11 shows potentially cold weather as a strong upper high builds off shore and a northerly flow overspreads the Great Basin. This is only one model and information will no doubt change. For now there’s no freeze in the forecast.
Mid afternoon dew points: Low to mid 30s. Kern: Upper 20s to the lower 30s.
ET for the past seven days: Stratford, .20, Parlier, .20, Arvin .20, Delano .20.
Soil temperatures: Stratford 56, Parlier 55, Arvin 55, Delano 53
Average Temperatures: 54/37, Record Temperatures: 66/24
Heating Degree Days Season. 674 -280 varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno .73, Monthly .52
Precipitation for Bakersfield: Season: .79, Monthly: .47
Average Temperature this Month 51.8 +5.8 taken at NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Parlier, 441 Arvin, 359 Belridge, 394 Shafter, 401 Stratford, 420 Delano 416. Courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise, 7:11. Sunset, 4:51 hours of daylight, 9:40
NA=Not available
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 60 / 44 / 0.00 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 63 / 47 / 0.00 /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 63 / 50 / 0.00 /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 63 / 47 / 0.00 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 62 / 44 / 0.00 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 63 / 47 / 0.00 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 63 / 47 / 0.00 /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 65 / 44 / 0.00 /
Rainfall: 24hr seas. % L.Y % S.Ave. 365
STOCKTON 0.05 2.31 55 5.80 139 4.18 13.45
MODESTO 0.00 2.61 74 6.23 177 3.52 12.27
MERCED 0.00 2.33 71 4.81 146 3.30 11.80
MADERA 0.00 1.45 49 2.57 88 2.93 10.79
FRESNO 0.00 0.73 25 4.45 151 2.95 10.99
HANFORD 0.00 1.01 45 3.29 148 2.23 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.00 0.79 46 1.93 112 1.72 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 0.61 51 2.38 200 1.19 4.84
DEATH VALLEY NP 0.00 0.28 64 0.03 7 0.44 2.20
SALINAS 0.00 1.78 48 5.58 151 3.70 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.00 4.64 150 5.29 171 3.09 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.00 2.48 74 4.81 143 3.37 13.32
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Next report: December 28, afternoon
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.