December 13, 2022
Most of the cloud cover that was over Kern County this morning has dissipated. Further north, there are a few patches of low clouds which will also dissipate over the next hour or two. In the meantime, that powerful storm that moved through central California over the weekend has made it as far east as Kansas. This is allowing weak upper level high pressure to build in further west. Freezing levels are now nearly 5,000 feet which is still low but certainly higher than 24 hours ago. Dew points throughout the valley are a few degrees plus or minus 40 degrees this afternoon. That’s actually come a long way from yesterday, but is still very low. Fog will have a somewhat easier time forming tonight because there will be less mixing tonight. The only real fly in the ointment as far as forecasting goes is a weak upper low which will be sliding southward off shore and will eventually move through California this weekend, but too far to the south to generate active weather in our neck of the woods. Temperatures as of midday are only in the upper 40s and they will have no problem reaching forecast lows tonight as there’s nothing to interfere with cooling. More on this in the frost discussion below. Some of the medium range models going out to Christmas has one showing rain moving back into California. Most, however, show California being shielded from precipitation as the main storm track moves back into the Pacific Northwest.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies through this Friday but with increasing amounts of night and morning fog and low clouds. Mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy Friday night through Tuesday, again with fog and low clouds during the early morning hours.
Temperatures:
| Madera 29/52/29/52 | Reedley 30/53/29/53 | Dinuba 28/52/28/53 |
| Porterville 29/52/29/51 | Lindsay 28/53/28/52 | Delano 29//53/29/52 |
| Bakersfield 35/52/34/53 | Taft 38/52/37/53 | Arvin 33/52/33/53 |
| Lamont 32/53/33/54 | Pixley 29/52/29/52 | Tulare 28/52/28/51 |
| Woodlake 29/53/29/52 | Hanford 30/53/29/52 | Orosi 28/52/29/53 |
Wind Discussion: Winds during the late morning and afternoons will be variable to 6 mph with periods of near calm conditions. Winds during the night and early morning hours will be light with periods of calm conditions through Friday.
Rain: Expect dry conditions for the next 7 to 10 days.
Frost: Dew points up and down the valley this afternoon are generally around the 40 degree mark. With air temperatures only in the upper 40s to near 50 at this hour, I don’t feel we’ll have any problem dipping into the upper 20s to the lower 40s tonight and each night through Friday. Coldest locations will fall down to 26 to 27 tonight with similar conditions coming up Thursday and Friday mornings. Unless the fog completely takes over, which we cannot rule out, we will enter a whole string of frost nights similar to what we had in November. The inversion tonight will be fairly weak with temperatures at 34 feet generally from 3 to 5 degrees warmer at most locations. Hillsides will be a tad above freezing. We may get a bit of moderation over the weekend. The blended model guidance indicates low to mid 30s, however I’m skeptical of that as experience has taught me once a particular air mass is stuck on the valley floor, it has a hard time moderating due to December’s low sun angle. Keep in mind, we only have 9 hours and 41 hours of daylight. So, unless we observe something out of the ordinary, we can expect upper 20s to low 30s through the weekend and likely beyond.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
29 |
Porterville
28 |
Ivanhoe
27 |
Woodlake
29 |
| Strathmore
28 |
McFarland
28 |
Ducor
30 |
Tea Pot Dome
28 |
| Lindsay
27 |
Exeter
28 |
Famoso
29 |
Madera
29 |
| Belridge
28 |
Delano
29 |
North Bakersfield
30 |
Orosi
28 |
| Orange Cove
29 |
Lindcove
28 |
Lindcove Hillside
af |
Sanger River Bottom
26 |
| Root creek
28 |
Venice Hill
28 |
Rosedale
29 |
Jasmine
29 |
| Arvin
33 |
Lamont
32 |
Plainview
28 |
Mettler
30 |
| Edison
af |
Maricopa
29 |
Holland Creek
33 |
Tivy Valley
29 |
| Kite Road South
33 |
Kite Road North
29 |
AF=Above Freezing
Next report: December 14 morning
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.