Author: Trudy Hibler

December 12, 2021 If you’re a meteorologist, you wait for big weather events to occur and that has happened today as a powerful winter storm is dropping out of the Gulf of Alaska and will be positioned off the Oregon/northern California coast late tonight through Monday. This system has very strong upper air dynamics. Also,…

December 11, 2021pm Other than some high, thin clouds, we are enjoying a mostly sunny afternoon. A weak ridge of high pressure currently covers the eastern Pacific off the California coast, stretching inland to the Great Basin and Desert Southwest. We are now monitoring the progress of an intensifying storm moving out of the Gulf…

Actual Humidity range Yesterday: Delano, 100%/89%  Porterville, 98%/68%.  Dew points:  Upper 30s to the lower 40s. Kern: Upper 30s to the lower 40s. Percentage of Sunshine Today/Tomorrow: Visalia: Today: 20%, tomorrow 10%.  Bakersfield: Today: 40%/. Tomorrow, 10%.   ET Rates Over the Past Seven Days:. Stratford .19, Parlier .18, Arvin .29, Orange Cove .20, Porterville…

December 10, 2021pm Skies are mostly clear this afternoon with the exception of territory along the foothills in Tulare County and upslope cloudiness banked up against the north facing slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains. The air is pretty dry behind yesterday’s storm. This will contribute to strong radiational cooling tonight. Barring anything unforeseen, upper 20s…

December 10, 2021 In the short term, the main forecast challenge will be below freezing temps tonight and Saturday night. The threshold of this air mass is upper 20s and lower 30s. More below in the frost discussion.   A fairly weak upper high will be above us, creating a warm air inversion which will…

December 9, 2021pm The rain has ended with the exception of some lingering showers over the Sierra Nevada as of 1:00pm. A colder air mass is driving down the valley.  It will  set the stage for some frosty mornings through  Friday. More on the frost discussion below.   Precipitation amounts were fairly significant in most…

December 9, 2021pm Rain at this hour is widespread in central California. The cold front is now draped over the Kern County mountains, spreading precipitation over much of southern California. Rainfall amounts so far seem to be in the ¼ to ½ inch category, so this system is pretty much as forecast.   A weak…

December 8, 2021pm The entire valley is enjoying hazy sunshine for a change with most locations in the mid to upper 50s, which is typical for the time of year. Well to our northwest, however, is a developing storm off the  northern California coast. This system will move into central California from Merced northward around…

December 8, 2021 It is another typical December morning out there this morning. Porterville, Visalia, Fresno, and Madera are reporting a visibility of ¼ mile or less. For today, we will be under a weak ridge of high  pressure which will quickly give way to a trough of low pressure diving southeastward from off the…

December 6, 2021pm The low clouds have cleared in Kern County and portions of Tulare County as of 2:00pm.  There was still a broken layer of clouds based between 1,100 and 1,300 feet from Visalia north. Areas of ground fog will form tonight as a clearing sky allows for radiational cooling. A very weak ridge…