March 1, 2024
Summary A very intense winter storm is centered off the coast of the Pacific Northwest with the bottom flank of this low sagging into central California. Epic amounts of snow is falling over the northern and central Sierra Nevada. Snowfall rates of 3-5 inches per hour are occurring in some areas. At a place called Palisades Tahoe, a peak wind gust of 190 mph was recorded, the highest I’ve seen in central California and Ward Mountain recorded a gust of 184 mph. Wind gusts this high are absolutely legendary. The San Joaquin Valley is experiencing its usual rain shadow along the west side, especially in Kern County. The following are storm totals as of 4:30 this morning: Bakersfield .03, Delano .10, Porterville .31, Exeter .75, Tulare .33, Dinuba .12, Reedley .15, Fresno .38, Madera .23, and Merced 1.06. satellite imagery shows a popcorn pattern to the clouds over the eastern Pacific Ocean. This very unstable air mass will move over central California today. Thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon and evening, especially if there are breaks in the overcast. This allows sunshine to heat the ground and add additional velocity to currents of air rising skyward. Periods of showers will continue tonight, tapering off towards sunrise with a chance of lingering showers Sunday morning. As the trough finally pulls off to the northeast, skies will begin clearing Sunday afternoon with dry weather through at least Monday night. clouds will begin to increase again Tuesday. A fragmented looking system will move through Tuesday night and Wednesday for a chance of light showers. Beginning late Thursday and Friday, a ridge of upper level high pressure will finally build northward and eastward over the Pacific Ocean, encompassing the western one-fourth of the US by Saturday for at least few days of dry weather with a warming trend.
Forecast: Periods of showers through tonight. Thunderstorms are possible this afternoon, especially north of Kern County. Lingering showers for a time Sunday morning. mostly to partly cloudy Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. mostly clear Monday night. increasing clouds Tuesday leading to a chance of showers late Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night. a slight chance of showers Wednesday morning then becoming partly cloudy. Partly cloudy Wednesday night. mostly clear Thursday through Saturday.
Short Term:
| Madera 57/41/58/34/59 | Reedley 58/42/58/35/58 | Dinuba 57/42/58/36/61 |
| Porterville 59/42/59/35/61 | Lindsay 57/42/59/34/60 | Delano 59/44/58/37/60 |
| Bakersfield 58/46/58/39/59 | Taft 55/48/54/40/54 | Arvin 59/43/59/40/61 |
| Lamont 59/45/59/39/60 | Pixley 57/42/58/36/59 | Tulare 57/41/58/34/59 |
| Woodlake 58/42/59/35/58 | Hanford 58/43/59/37/60 | Orosi 58/41/58/34/58 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Tuesday Increasing clouds 37/59 | Wednesday Chance of showers 42/65 | Thursday Mostly clear 40/63 | Friday Mostly clear 39/62 | Saturday Mostly clear 40/65 |
Two Week Forecast: March 9 through March 15: This model still indicates a pretty good signature for above average precipitation during this period. We will generally be below average in temperatures with at least about a 30% chance of precipitation.
Thirty Day Report: This model depicts temperatures near to marginally above average during this time frame. A good chance of above average precipitation will continue through the month as the El Nino pattern continues.
Ninety Day Report: This model favors the storm track being much further south than in most years, resulting in above average precipitation. temperatures on this model are also negligibly above average.
Winds: Winds will be mainly out of the west/southwest today at around 8 to 15 mph. Winds tonight through Sunday will be mainly out of the northwest at 10 to 20 mph with stronger gusts possible. Winds Sunday night through Tuesday will be generally at or less than 7 mph.
Rain: Periods of rain will continue through the day today and most of the night. it will begin to decrease during the predawn hours. Lingering showers are possible for a time Sunday morning, otherwise this event will end during the day Sunday. Thunderstorms are also possible this afternoon and evening which will potentially result in localized heavy rain and small hail. Amounts of rain from this point on will generally range in just a few hundredths, especially in Kern County to as much as a half inch, especially in Merced and Madera Counties but locally elsewhere. After this storm, our next chance of precipitation will arrive Tuesday night and Wednesday. This system appears to be fairly weak, so rainfall amounts are expected to be fairly light. A dome of high pressure is showing up for Thursday through next weekend for a period of dry weather.
Frost: After the current storm moves on, temperatures in the 30s can be expected Monday and Tuesday mornings. Most locations will remain above freezing, however, if conditions are right such as clear skies and calm winds, coldest locations could drop to 30 to 32degrees with a slight chance of those cold spots out there dipping into the upper 20s. No general frost or freeze threat is seen at this time.
Mid afternoon dew points: Mid 40s to the lower 50s. Kern: Mid to upper 40s.
ET for the past seven days: Stratford, .62, Parlier, .67, Arvin .66, Delano .72.
Soil temperatures: Stratford 56, Parlier 58, Arvin NA, Delano 58
Average Temperatures: 65/43, Record Temperatures: 82/26
Heating Degree Days Season. 1482 -515 varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno 6.42, Monthly .26
Precipitation for Bakersfield: Season: 4.86, Monthly: .03
Average Temperature this Month 57.5 +3.5 taken at NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Parlier, 793 Arvin, 692 Belridge, 690 Shafter, 741 Stratford, 784 Delano 783. Courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise, 6:26. Sunset, 5:56, hours of daylight, 11:27
NA=Not available
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced 153 : DH1600 / 60 / 52 / 0.83 /
MAE : Madera 253 : DH1600 / 63 / 53 / 0.20 /
FAT : Fresno Airport 333 : DH1600 / 62 / 52 / 0.26 /
HJO : Hanford Airport 242 : DH1600 / 66 / 48 / 0.12 /
NLC : Lemoore Naval AS 234 : DH1600 / 66 / 46 / 0.11 /
BFL : Bakersfield Airport 496 : DH1600 / 70 / 47 / 0.02 /
VIS : Visalia Airport 292 : DH1600 / 66 / 48 / T /
PTV : Porterville Airport 442 : DH1600 / 66 / 46 / 0.04 /
TFTC1 : Taft 759 : DH1554 / 68 / 50 / 0.00 /
LOSC1 : Los Banos 120 : DH1600 / 62 / 50 / 0.05 /
Rainfall: 24hr 2024 % l.y. % ave Yearly ave
STOCKTON 0.16 10.27 105 17.50 180 9.74 13.45
MODESTO 0.09 13.17 152 15.39 177 8.69 12.27
MERCED 0.83 11.29 138 15.77 192 8.21 11.80
MADERA 0.20 7.11 97 7.89 108 7.32 10.79
FRESNO 0.26 6.42 87 13.87 188 7.38 10.99
HANFORD 0.12 6.09 111 10.75 196 5.49 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.02 4.85 113 6.91 161 4.30 6.36
BISHOP 0.00 4.09 121 9.97 296 3.37 4.84
DEATH VALLEY NP 0.00 2.38 172 0.95 69 1.38 2.20
SALINAS 0.23 9.75 107 10.59 116 9.11 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.19 14.17 162 15.70 180 8.72 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.60 11.53 123 18.37 196 9.39 13.32