January 7, 2024
Summary: The valley has two distinct weather signatures at midday. The west side is enjoying abundant sunshine while the east side and most of Kern County have a low cloud deck based between 1,500 and 2,400 feet. Gusty winds continue down mainly the west side of the valley. The noon observation at Lemoore had winds out of the west at 21 mph, gusting to 32. All this is due to strong surface gradients between northern California and southern Nevada. The latest altimeter reading at San Francisco was 30.15 inches of mercury while at Las Vegas the pressure stood at 29.77. This pressure gradient, as we call it, will weaken this evening, leading to light winds on the valley floor by late evening with near calm conditions by the morning hours. Upper level high pressure will build in from the west tonight and Monday and will dominate the pattern through Wednesday for dry weather. As the high takes over, recent moisture at ground level will no doubt cause fog to form in many areas, especially beginning Tuesday morning. The next weather system of note will arrive late Wednesday night and Thursday morning. models this afternoon continue to peg this system as moisture starved. If any precipitation arrives at all, less than .10 can be expected at any location, mainly from Fresno County north. Another shot of cold air will dive southward Thursday and Thursday night, leading to another bout of below freezing temperatures. Most models keep precipitation this weekend to our north as high pressure off shore will deflect the next series of storms into the Pacific Northwest.
Forecast: partly to mostly cloudy this evening in Kern and Tulare Counties. Mostly clear to partly cloudy skies elsewhere tonight. Mostly clear to partly cloudy Monday through Wednesday with areas of night and morning fog and low clouds. Increasing cloudiness Wednesday night with a chance of light showers, mainly from Fresno County north. Partly cloudy Thursday afternoon and Thursday night. partly cloudy Friday through Sunday with areas of night and morning fog and low clouds.
Short Term:
| Madera 28/51//28/53 | Reedley 29/51/28/52 | Dinuba 27/50/28/53 |
| Porterville 28/51/28/54 | Lindsay 26/51/27/54 | Delano 29/51/29/53 |
| Bakersfield 32/51/31/53 | Taft 33/49/35/51 | Arvin 30/51/29/54 |
| Lamont 30/52/29/54 | Pixley 28/51/29/53 | Tulare 27//50/27/52 |
| Woodlake 27/51/28/53 | Hanford 29/52/29/54 | Orosi 27/51/28/53 |
Winds: Winds through the early evening hours will be out of the northwest at 10 to 15 mph with local gusts 25 mph along the west side. Winds will decrease this evening, becoming light to near calm. Winds Monday through Wednesday will be generally at or less than 6 mph with periods of near calm conditions.
Rain: Expect dry weather through Wednesday. Our next chance for measurable rain will arrive Wednesday night and Thursday morning. models are still portraying this system as moisture starved so precipitation will be generally less than .10 and mainly from Fresno County north. For the remainder of the week, dry conditions will prevail. Models had shown a chance of precipitation Saturday into Sunday but latest models are backing away from that solution. For the first half of next week, models are showing a dry pattern with high pressure just off shore.
Frost: As is usually the case between winter time cold fronts, upslope clouds are banking up against the Kern County mountains and the Sierra Nevada foothills in Fresno and Tulare Counties. The last couple of model runs are showing breaks in this cloud deck, meaning dryer air from the northwest is beginning to mix these clouds out. Gusty northwesterly winds are moving down the west side of the valley. This has dropped dew points into the 30s at most locations. It’s still possible some of these clouds could remain all night, however recent trends are indicating most locations will be cloud free by sunrise. With that in mind, I’m leaning towards the clear sky scenario. Coldest unprotected river bottom locations could drop down to 23 to25 degrees with most flat terrain areas between 26 and 29. Hillsides will dip into the low to mid 30s. The inversion will be fairly week tonight with temperatures at 34 feet from 2 to 5 degrees warmer. Possibly improving some after sunrise. Even though somewhat breezy conditions will be noted the first half of the night, light to calm winds can be expected after midnight. Similar conditions can be expected Tuesday morning. temperatures Wednesday will generally range from 29 to 34 with possibly above freezing temperatures Thursday morning with possible cloud cover and a chance of showers. Another shot of cold air will arrive Thursday so readings from 27 to 31 will be possible Friday morning. Keep in mind, also, if low clouds and fog become entrenched on the valley floor, readings could be moderated. Ice fog is never a good scenario. Models show conditions possibly moderating next weekend and models do show in and out cloud cover. Whether or not clouds are dense enough and widespread enough is up for speculation.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella 28 | Porterville 27 | Ivanhoe 27 | Woodlake 28 |
| Strathmore 29 | McFarland 27 | Ducor 29 | Tea pot dome 28 |
| Lindsay 26 | Exeter 27 | Famoso 29 | Madera 28 |
| Belridge 26 | Delano 28 | North Bakersfield 29 | Orosi 27 |
| Orange cove 28 | Lindcove 27 | Lindcove Hillside 31 | Sanger river bottom 25 |
| Root creek 26 | Venice hill 28 | Rosedale 29 | Jasmine 28 |
| Arvin 29 | Lamont 29 | Plainview 28 | Mettler 30 |
| Edison 30 | Maricopa 29 | Holland creek 30 | Tivy Valley 27 |
| Kite Road South 30 | Kite Road North 27 |
AF=Above Freezing