April 2, 2023 am
The eastern Pacific high remains farther west than it’s usual position. A cold low is dropping southeastward out of the Gulf of Alaska and into the Pacific Northwest. This trough will drive southward into California Sunday night and Monday while a ridge of upper level high pressure builds upward off the Pacific coast and into the Gulf of Alaska. The jet stream will flank north to south Monday and Monday night, driving a cold air mass into California. At the surface, strong differences in pressure between off shore waters and the Great Basin will generate strong winds down the valley out of the northwest. Wind gusts exceeding 40 mph are possible later Sunday night through Monday night. Winds will be especially strong over Kern County and the southern Sierra Nevada where gusts as high as 70 mph are possible. These winds will also drive down dew points which will fall into the mid 20s to low 30s Monday night through Tuesday night, leading to areas of frost Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The trough will move eastward Tuesday and beyond, allowing a zone of high pressure to build in from the west, resulting in a warming trend. Models for this weekend and the first half of next week indicate a strong high will be over the eastern Pacific and western US, resulting in well above average temperatures. Readings will hit 80 over the coming weekend, especially Easter Sunday.
Forecast: Mostly clear skies today. Variable clouds tonight through Monday night, becoming windy and cooler. Mostly clear Tuesday with the exception of Kern County and possibly Tulare County which will remain partly cloudy Tuesday morning. Mostly clear skies will prevail Tuesday night through Easter Sunday with a warming trend.
Temperatures: Highs today will warm into the upper 60s. Lows tonight will chill into the upper 30s to the lower 40s. highs Monday will warm into the mid to upper 50s. Lows Monday night will chill into the upper 20s to the lower 30s. Highs Tuesday will warm into the upper 50s to the lower 60s.
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Frost Discussion. All locations will be above freezing Monday morning. A cold low is currently digging southward through the Pacific Northwest and will drive quickly into California Sunday and Monday. the pool of air behind the cold front is quite cold and will drive temperatures into the low to mid 30s Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Strong winds will accompany this event, driving dew points down into the upper 20s to the lower 30s. With calm winds and clear skies, river bottom and other traditionally cold low spots could drop down to 27 to 29 degrees. This is a typical spring frost type event, meaning gusty winds and upslope clouds, mainly in the south valley, will play their traditional roles. The air mass will be modifying by Wednesday morning, but colder locations could still drop down into the low to mid 30s. A much warmer air mass will move in over the weekend with above freezing temperatures Friday and beyond.
Next report: April 3 am
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.