February 12, 2023
The first in a series of weather systems is no longer having a direct impact on central California’s weather and has now dropped into northern Baja California. System number 2 is now racing southward through western Canada and will drive into the interior western US Monday and Monday night. Like its predecessor, this system is largely dry and will drive a dry cold front down the valley Tuesday. Scattered light showers are possible along the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday with snow flurries dropping into the lower foothills as lows as 1,500 feet. I doubt that any measurable precipitation will be measured from this system as it will be travelling over land, robbing it of what little moisture it had to begin with. As pressure falls over southern California and the Desert Southwest, winds will pick up, especially on the west side of the valley. These winds will tend to drive down dew points well down into the 20s Tuesday night, setting the stage for subfreezing weather. The potential for river bottoms and other low lying terrain is the mid to upper 20s in the coldest locations Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Average terrain with largely flat surface will see readings from 28 to 31. A third system will drop southward right along the California coast Friday. This system will, A: put an end to the two day freeze, and b: will give us a chance of measurable rain if the low moves southward close enough to the coast to spread rain inland. Dry and cool weather can be expected over the weekend as the low moves southward along the southern California coast.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies tonight. Becoming partly cloudy Monday. variable cloudiness Monday night and becoming breezy. Partly cloudy Tuesday. Mostly clear Tuesday night through Thursday. Increasing cloudiness Friday leading to a chance of showers. A chance of widely scattered showers Friday night and Saturday. Mostly clear Saturday night through Sunday.
Temperatures:
| Madera 34/65/37/53 | Reedley 36/65/37/54 | Dinuba 33/64/35/55 |
| Porterville 33/65/33/52 | Lindsay 32/64/34/53 | Delano 36/64/32/52 |
| Bakersfield 40/64/41/53 | Taft 41/65/41/52 | Arvin 34/63/33/53 |
| Lamont 35/65/34/52 | Pixley 35/65/33/52 | Tulare 35/62/32/52 |
| Woodlake 36/64/32/53 | Hanford 36/65/33/55 | Orosi 35/64/32/53 |
Wind Discussion: Winds today will be out of the northwest at no more than 5 to 12 mph. Winds Monday will be light and variable winds late Monday night and Tuesday will increase out of the north/northwest at 15 to 25 mph. stronger gusts will be possible along the west side and mainly from Kern Coun5y north. winds Tuesday night will decrease to 4 to 8 mph with periods of near calm conditions after midnight. Winds Wednesday will be light and variable.
Rain: the only real chance of measurable rain this week will be Friday and continue into Saturday as a low center drops southward right along the California coast. The main question remains whether this system will track southward close enough to the coast to allow showers to spread inland, mainly along the west side of the valley. Like the whole series of storms this week, this one has low potential for anything significant. It’s possible as much as .25 will be delivered. Dry weather will return during the second half of the weekend and continue into next week.
Frost: Lows tonight will generally be in the low to mid 30s Monday morning and mid to upper 30s Tuesday morning. Wednesday and Thursday remain the two mornings of greatest concern. Models have consistently shown this to be a mid to upper 20s event with coldest locations down to 26 to 27 with most flat terrain ranging from 27 to 30. The main wild card with this event continues to be wind and, to a lesser extent, potential cloud cover against the slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. This will be a short lived event as the next low pressure system will drop down right along the coast, possibly even threatening a few showers Friday night and Saturday. Temperatures will moderate over the weekend due to cloud cover and wind conditions.
Lows Tonight:
| Terra Bella
Af |
Porterville
32 |
Ivanhoe
32 |
Woodlake
Af |
| Strathmore
Af |
McFarland
32 |
Ducor
Af |
Tea Pot Dome
32 |
| Lindsay
31 |
Exeter
31 |
Famoso
Af |
Madera
Af |
| Belridge
32 |
Delano
Af |
North Bakersfield
Af |
Orosi
32 |
| Orange Cove
Af |
Lindcove
31 |
Lindcove Hillside
Af |
Sanger River Bottom
30 |
| Root Creek
31 |
Venice Hill
31 |
Rosedale
Af |
Jasmin
Af |
| Arvin
Af |
Lamont
Af |
Plainview
32 |
Mettler
Af |
| Edison
Af |
Maricopa
Af |
Holland Creek
Af |
Tivy Valley
Af |
| Kite Road South
Af |
Kite Road North
Af |
AF=Above Freezing
Next report: February 13 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.