February 20, 2024
Summary Thunderstorms which rolled through the valley yesterday afternoon really jacked up rain totals in some locations. The following are storm totals through 4:00am: Bakersfield .51, Mettler .32, Delano .46, Porterville .80, Exeter, 1.13, Hanford .65, Lemoore .96, Visalia .72, Dinuba .73, Reedley .75, Del Rey, 1.37, Fresno .86, Clovis 1.30, Madera .68, and Merced .94. Most locations in the foothills and mountains recorded between two and three and a half inches. The current path of the atmospheric river of air is running from southwest to northeast right through southern LA and Orange Counties. This band of moisture will very slowly move southward. The center of the parent low is currently off the southern Oregon coast. Even so, this low covers all of California and off shore waters. It will continue to rotate bands of moisture inland through tonight. Isolated thunderstorms are possible again this afternoon and evening. The low will slowly weaken over the next 24 hours and will slowly move northward. As it does, showers will finally come to an end Wednesday. A weak area of high pressure will move inland and dominate our weather through Friday night for a brief time of dry weather. By Saturday, a new low will be off the California coast. This cut off low will be difficult to forecast. Most models show it moving down the coast and remaining off shore with any precipitation remaining off shore through Monday. the low will finally move inland Sunday and Monday for a chance of showers with the greatest risk being in the south valley, By Tuesday, this system will be far enough to the east to take the chance of showers out of the forecast.
Forecast: Periods of showers and a chance of isolated thunderstorms through tonight. A chance of showers Wednesday, especially during the morning. partly cloudy Wednesday night through Friday night. variable cloudiness Saturday and Saturday night. a chance of showers Sunday through Monday. partly cloudy Monday night through Tuesday.
Short Term:
| Madera 66/47/63/41/64 | Reedley 68/47/63/41/64 | Dinuba 65/46/62/42/63 |
| Porterville 68/46//64/43/66 | Lindsay 67/46/64/43/66 | Delano 67/47//64/43/67 |
| Bakersfield 67/50/61/46/65 | Taft 63/50/60/47/63 | Arvin 68/48/65/43/65 |
| Lamont 68/50/64/44/64 | Pixley 66/46/62/42/64 | Tulare 65/43/63/42/64 |
| Woodlake 65/45/64/43/65 | Hanford 67/47/64/43/66 | Orosi 65/43/64/43/65 |
Seven Day Forecast
| Friday Partly cloudy 41/64 | Saturday Increasing clouds 40/66 | Sunday Chance of showers 43/69 | Monday Chance of showers 43/66 | Tuesday Partly cloudy 40/62 |
Two Week Forecast: February 26 through March 3: This model shows the potential for storms to move out of the Gulf of Alaska and into the Pacific Northwest and California. It does not depict above or below average rainfall but does suggest below average temperatures for a change.
Thirty Day Report: This model depicts temperatures near to marginally above average during this time frame. A good chance of above average precipitation will continue through the month as the El Nino pattern continues.
Ninety Day Report: This model favors the storm track being much further south than in most years, resulting in above average precipitation. temperatures on this model are also negligibly above average.
Winds: Winds will be mainly out of the southeast today at 5 to 12 mph. Stronger gusts can be expected in the vicinity of showers. From Wednesday night through Saturday winds will be generally at or less than 10 mph with periods of near calm conditions.
Rain: More bands of showers and the chance of isolated thunderstorms will prevail through at least Wednesday morning. by Wednesday afternoon, the parent low will drift far enough to the north to take the chance of showers out of the forecast Wednesday night through Saturday. A new low will move into southern California during the late part of the weekend and early next week. for now, it looks like any precipitation should be fairly light. We can finally put some dry weather in the forecast for Tuesday through Friday of next week.
Mid afternoon dew points: Low to mid 40s. Kern: Low to mid 40s.
ET for the past seven days: Stratford, .53, Parlier, .49, Arvin .67, Delano .55.
Soil temperatures: Stratford 54, Parlier 54, Arvin 60, Delano 54
Average Temperatures: 63/41, Record Temperatures: 79/28
Heating Degree Days Season. 1384 -493 varies widely from location to location. courtesy of the NWS
Precipitation: Seasonal total for Fresno .6.16, Monthly 3.36
Precipitation for Bakersfield: Season: 4.73, Monthly: 2.12
Average Temperature this Month 52.6 +2.3 taken at NWS Hanford.
Water year season is from October 1st through September 30.
Chilling Hours November 1st through February 28: Parlier, 761 Arvin, 672 Belridge, 673 Shafter, 724 Stratford, 745 Delano 752. Courtesy UC Davis
Sunrise, 6:40. Sunset, 5:45 hours of daylight, 11:02
NA=Not available
Yesterday’s Weather:
MCE : Merced AP 153 : 70 / 50 / 0.02 /
MAE : Madera AP 253 : 69 / 48 / 0.06 /
FAT : Fresno AP 333 : 68 / 49 / 0.15 /
HJO : Hanford AP 242 : 69 / 49 / 0.22 /
NLC : Lemoore NAS 234 : 70 / 46 / 0.06 /
BFL : Bakersfield AP 496 : 70 / 53 / 0.22 /
VIS : Visalia AP 292 : 68 / 52 / M /
PTV : Porterville AP 442 : 68 / 53 / 0.47 /
Rainfall: 24hr 2024 % l.y. % ave Yearly ave
STOCKTON 0.27 9.75 110 15.75 177 8.89 13.45
MODESTO 0.51 12.63 159 13.56 171 7.93 12.27
MERCED 0.54 10.07 136 13.48 182 7.41 11.80
MADERA 0.44 6.68 102 5.14 78 6.58 10.79
FRESNO 0.70 6.16 92 9.83 147 6.67 10.99
HANFORD 0.37 5.87 119 6.99 141 4.95 8.13
BAKERSFIELD 0.09 4.68 121 4.50 117 3.86 6.36
BISHOP 0.93 4.03 132 8.73 285 3.06 4.84
DEATH VALLEY NP 0.00 2.38 198 0.39 33 1.20 2.20
SALINAS 0.07 9.12 111 9.27 112 8.25 12.58
PASO ROBLES 0.74 13.60 174 13.07 168 7.80 12.15
SANTA MARIA 0.99 10.68 128 13.61 163 8.37 13.32