January 1, 2022
Central California is now under a north/northwest flow aloft, maintaining a chilly weather pattern. Occasionally during the winter season you’ll see an eddy form in the central valley. That occurs when the winds over the valley are out of the northwest. They turn in Kern County against the mountains, creating a southeast flow along the east side. It was interesting to see low clouds which were formerly in Kern and Tulare Counties move northeastward into eastern Madera and Merced Counties, leaving the south valley clear except for a few high clouds. As the atmosphere stabilizes tonight, fairly decent radiational cooling will occur, allowing temperatures to fall below freezing in most areas. Upper 20s and lower 30s will be the general rule of thumb in most areas.
In the broad picture, upper level high pressure continues to build in from the west. A low in the Gulf of Alaska will try to bash through the high Tuesday, spreading light precipitation as far south as a Bay Area/Sacramento line, but that’s all. The high will jump right back into position Wednesday through Thursday night with another low trying to move through the high late Friday into Saturday. I’m not at all surprised to see this afternoon that models are nudging the rain line further north, so it’s quite possible this week will be entirely dry after the past couple of weeks of generous rains in the valley and snow in the Sierra Nevada. The new two week model out this afternoon continues to indicate near average temperatures and dry conditions.
Forecast: Mostly clear through Monday night with areas of dense fog and low clouds later nights and mornings. Variable cloudiness Tuesday and Tuesday night with areas of fog and low clouds during the late night and morning hours. Mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy Wednesday through Friday night with areas of fog and low clouds. Variable cloudiness Friday through Saturday with areas of fog and low clouds during the night and morning hours.
Short Term:
| Madera 29/53/30/54 | Reedley 29/54/30/54 | Dinuba 28/52/30/53 |
| Porterville 29/54/30/55 | Lindsay 28/53/30/54 | Delano 30/53/31/54 |
| Bakersfield 34/56/35/55 | Taft 37//55/38/56 | Arvin 32/55/33/56 |
| Lamont 31/54/32/55 | Pixley 29//53/30/54 | Tulare 28/52/30/53 |
| Woodlake 29/53/30/54 | Hanford 29/54/30/55 | Orosi 28/53/29/53 |
Wind Discussion: Winds will be generally at or less than 7 MPH with periods of near calm conditions through Tuesday.
Rain: We’ll keep a slight chance of a few showers in the forecast for Friday night and Saturday morning. But realistically, models are showing drier and drier weather with each run. If I were a betting man, I’d bet that this entire week will be dry.
Frost: As of 1:00pm, temperatures at most locations were around 50 degrees while dew points were around 40. The protective upslope clouds of some areas last night has largely vanished as drier air has mixed down from above. We are in for what I consider to be a typical frost night tonight with widespread upper 20s and lower 30s. unprotected river bottom locations will dip down to 25 to 26 for short durations. Most flatland locations will remain from around 28 to 32 degrees. Temperatures at 34 feet will range between 3 to 7 degrees warmer tonight and again Sunday night. Look for similar conditions Monday morning. We may see an increase in some higher clouds Tuesday night ahead of a dying weather system in northern California. If skies remain clear, most locations will dip slightly below freezing, but generally 1 to 2 degrees warmer. Cloud cover along with higher dew points and increasing amounts of fog and low clouds should do the job Tuesday and Wednesday. By Thursday morning, the air mass should have modified enough to keep temperatures in the 30s. the lower 48 is finally observing some arctic outbreaks for what is really the first time this winter. Severe cold is diving into the Midwest and east, but so far nothing damaging appears on the horizon for the western states.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
29 |
Ivanhoe
28 |
Woodlake
29 |
| Strathmore
29 |
mcFarland
28 |
Ducor 30 | Tea Pot Dome
29 |
| Lindsay
27 |
Exeter
28 |
Famoso
30 |
Madera
29 |
| Belridge
28 |
Delano
29 |
North Bakersfield
30 |
Orosi
28 |
| Orange Cove
29 |
Lindcove
28 |
Lindcove Hillside
33 |
Sanger River Bottom
26 |
| Root Creek
28 |
Venice Hill
29 |
Rosedale
29 |
Jasmine
29 |
| Arvin
32 |
Lamont
31 |
Plainview
29 |
Mettler
29 |
| Edison
32 |
Maricopa
30 |
Holland Creek
32 |
Tivy Valley
29 |
| Kite Road South
32 |
Kite Road North
29 |
AF=Above Freezing
Next report: January 2