up to 2-3 feet then cold at night single digits or lower till another small storm little warmer around 1-2 jan 2011
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 840 PM PST SUN DEC 26 2010 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL PREVAIL ONCE AGAIN PROVIDING FOR PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH PATCHY LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING FOG IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT BRINGING YET ANOTHER CHANCE FOR RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. DRY CONDITIONS WILL RETURN FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY DUE TO ANOTHER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE. && .DISCUSSION... THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH IS WELL NORTHEAST OF THE HANFORD WARNING/ FORECAST AREA...HAVING LIFTED INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. HOWEVER... SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW A TRAILING SHORT-WAVE MOVING INTO CALIFORNIA TONIGHT. MID-LEVEL CLOUDS HAVE HAVE SPREAD AS FAR SOUTH AS MERCED THIS EVENING...AND THE SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THESE CLOUDS WILL BE THE MAIN FACTOR CONCERNING OVERNIGHT LOWS AND WHERE ANY FOG DEVELOPS. SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW UPSLOPE CLOUDS ALONG THE VALLEY-FACING SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. MESO-WEST OBSERVATIONS INDICATE A GENERALLY NORTHERLY LIGHT FLOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...WHICH SHOULD INCREASE A BIT LATER TONIGHT AFTER THE SHORT-WAVE AXIS MOVES THROUGH AND THE REGION IS UNDER A NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THIS WILL KEEP THE CLOUDS MOSTLY BANKED OVER THE SLOPES...ALTHOUGH SOME SPREAD INTO THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH END OF VALLEY WILL OCCUR AT TIMES. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT A VERY DRY AIRMASS IS MOVING SOUTH THROUGH MONO AND INYO COUNTIES...EVIDENCED BY THE 18 F DEWPOINT AT BISHOP AT 03Z. HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST TO LOWER DESERT LOWS TONIGHT AND MONDAY NIGHT...ESPECIALLY IN THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY...AND TO ADJUST SKY COVER TONIGHT. THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN CONTINUES TO BE THE NEXT STORM...WHICH IS ON TRACK TO ARRIVE INTO THE NORTHERN FRINGES OF THE HANFORD WARNING/ FORECAST AREA TUESDAY AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD SOUTH TUESDAY NIGHT...THEN REMAIN OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH MOVES EAST OF THE REGION AROUND 12Z THURSDAY. THIS STORM POTENTIALLY COULD BE WETTER THAN THE STORM THAT MOVED THROUGH THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR SATURDAY NIGHT. THE LATEST RFC QPF GUIDANCE /THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY/ GIVES FRESNO 0.69 INCH...AND YOSEMITE VALLEY 1.71 INCH. THE NEW 00Z NAM QPF GIVES FRESNO 1.17 INCH AND YOSEMITE 2.56 INCHES. THE 00Z WRF ALSO HAS A QPF OF 1.17 INCH FOR FRESNO...BUT ONLY HAS A QPF OF 2.08 INCHES FOR YOSEMITE. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO AROUND 4000 FEET AT YOSEMITE WEDNESDAY MORNING...AND TO AROUND 5000 FEET IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. AT THIS TIME...DO NOT EXPECT SNOW ON THE GRAPEVINE OR TEHACHAPI PASS UNTIL WEDNESDAY NIGHT...BY WHICH TIME MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL HAVE ENDED. HOWEVER...THE SNOW LEVEL IS FORECAST TO FALL TO 2000 FEET WEDNESDAY NIGHT FROM SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK NORTHWARD...AND ANY RESIDUAL UPSLOPE SHOWERS WILL BRING SNOW TO THE FOOTHILL COMMUNITIES SUCH AS MARIPOSA...OAKHURST...NORTH FORK AND SPRINGVILLE. A COLD CONTINENTAL AIRMASS IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR BEHIND THE STORM. 850-MB TEMPERATURES OVER FRESNO ARE FORECAST TO PLUNGE TO -5 TO -6 C BY 12Z FRIDAY...AND LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE WIND SHELTERED PARTS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY COULD FALL TO 27 DEGREES FRIDAY MORNING...WITH EVEN THE BAKERSFIELD AND FRESNO/CLOVIS METROPOLITAN AREAS BELOW FREEZING.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 840 PM PST SUN DEC 26 2010 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL PREVAIL ONCE AGAIN PROVIDING FOR PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH PATCHY LATE NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING FOG IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT BRINGING YET ANOTHER CHANCE FOR RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. DRY CONDITIONS WILL RETURN FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY DUE TO ANOTHER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE. && .DISCUSSION... THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH IS WELL NORTHEAST OF THE HANFORD WARNING/ FORECAST AREA...HAVING LIFTED INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. HOWEVER... SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW A TRAILING SHORT-WAVE MOVING INTO CALIFORNIA TONIGHT. MID-LEVEL CLOUDS HAVE HAVE SPREAD AS FAR SOUTH AS MERCED THIS EVENING...AND THE SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THESE CLOUDS WILL BE THE MAIN FACTOR CONCERNING OVERNIGHT LOWS AND WHERE ANY FOG DEVELOPS. SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW UPSLOPE CLOUDS ALONG THE VALLEY-FACING SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. MESO-WEST OBSERVATIONS INDICATE A GENERALLY NORTHERLY LIGHT FLOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...WHICH SHOULD INCREASE A BIT LATER TONIGHT AFTER THE SHORT-WAVE AXIS MOVES THROUGH AND THE REGION IS UNDER A NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THIS WILL KEEP THE CLOUDS MOSTLY BANKED OVER THE SLOPES...ALTHOUGH SOME SPREAD INTO THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH END OF VALLEY WILL OCCUR AT TIMES. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT A VERY DRY AIRMASS IS MOVING SOUTH THROUGH MONO AND INYO COUNTIES...EVIDENCED BY THE 18 F DEWPOINT AT BISHOP AT 03Z. HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST TO LOWER DESERT LOWS TONIGHT AND MONDAY NIGHT...ESPECIALLY IN THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY...AND TO ADJUST SKY COVER TONIGHT. THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN CONTINUES TO BE THE NEXT STORM...WHICH IS ON TRACK TO ARRIVE INTO THE NORTHERN FRINGES OF THE HANFORD WARNING/ FORECAST AREA TUESDAY AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD SOUTH TUESDAY NIGHT...THEN REMAIN OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH MOVES EAST OF THE REGION AROUND 12Z THURSDAY. THIS STORM POTENTIALLY COULD BE WETTER THAN THE STORM THAT MOVED THROUGH THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR SATURDAY NIGHT. THE LATEST RFC QPF GUIDANCE /THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY/ GIVES FRESNO 0.69 INCH...AND YOSEMITE VALLEY 1.71 INCH. THE NEW 00Z NAM QPF GIVES FRESNO 1.17 INCH AND YOSEMITE 2.56 INCHES. THE 00Z WRF ALSO HAS A QPF OF 1.17 INCH FOR FRESNO...BUT ONLY HAS A QPF OF 2.08 INCHES FOR YOSEMITE. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO AROUND 4000 FEET AT YOSEMITE WEDNESDAY MORNING...AND TO AROUND 5000 FEET IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. AT THIS TIME...DO NOT EXPECT SNOW ON THE GRAPEVINE OR TEHACHAPI PASS UNTIL WEDNESDAY NIGHT...BY WHICH TIME MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL HAVE ENDED. HOWEVER...THE SNOW LEVEL IS FORECAST TO FALL TO 2000 FEET WEDNESDAY NIGHT FROM SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK NORTHWARD...AND ANY RESIDUAL UPSLOPE SHOWERS WILL BRING SNOW TO THE FOOTHILL COMMUNITIES SUCH AS MARIPOSA...OAKHURST...NORTH FORK AND SPRINGVILLE. A COLD CONTINENTAL AIRMASS IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR BEHIND THE STORM. 850-MB TEMPERATURES OVER FRESNO ARE FORECAST TO PLUNGE TO -5 TO -6 C BY 12Z FRIDAY...AND LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE WIND SHELTERED PARTS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY COULD FALL TO 27 DEGREES FRIDAY MORNING...WITH EVEN THE BAKERSFIELD AND FRESNO/CLOVIS METROPOLITAN AREAS BELOW FREEZING.
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