February 5, 2021
Summary: A relatively strong upper high is centered roughly 500 miles to the west of the southern California coast this afternoon with a huge ridge reaching north into Alaska. The first of several arctic outbreaks is currently sweeping through the northern Rockies and Midwestern US. The high, which now covers the western 1/3 of the US will begin to flatten out Sunday in response to a weak weather system which will move through the Pacific Northwest then clip northern California late Monday night and Tuesday. The winds aloft, which are currently out of the northwest, will become westerly, maintaining a mild weather regime for central California this upcoming week.
There is a trend developing on a low pressure system moving through northern and central California about Thursday night or Friday. On paper, this doesn’t look like an impressive system, but does warrant the additional of a chance of light showers Thursday night and Friday. Some of the medium range models are also picking up on the possibility of a stronger Pacific storm around late Saturday night or Sunday of this upcoming week. Between these systems will be variable amounts of cloud cover from time to time with temperatures being marginally above seasonal average.
Forecast: Clear skies through Sunday night with patchy late night and morning fog. Partly cloudy Sunday night. variable clouds at times Monday through Thursday. Mostly cloudy Thursday night through Friday night with a chance of light showers. Partly cloudy Friday night through Saturday.
Short Term:
| Madera 35/66/38/66 | Reedley 34/66/36/65 | Dinuba 34/65/37/65 | |
| Porterville 34/67/36/67 | Lindsay 34/66/36/66 | Delano 35/67/37/67 | |
| Bakersfield 42/68/43/69 | Taft 50/67/50/68 | Arvin 37/68/38/68 | |
| Lamont 36/67/38/66 | Pixley 34/66/36/65 | Tulare 33/65/35/66 | |
| Woodlake 34/65/35/65 | Hanford 35/67/37/67 | Orosi 33/65/35/65 | |
Winds: Winds during the mid morning to afternoon hours will be variable at or less than 10 MPH through Tuesday. Winds during the night and early morning hours will be no more than 7 MPH with extended periods of near calm conditions.
Rain: Dry conditions will continue through at least Thursday. Over the past couple of days, the GFS model was projecting light showers around late Thursday and Friday of this coming week. Models today have been picking up on this idea, so I’m adding a chance of light showers to that time frame. The same GFS model is projecting a stronger Pacific storm moving through next Sunday and Monday. It will be interesting to see if other models pick up on this, as well.
Frost: Expect above freezing conditions short, medium, and long range.
Next update: February 7/am