239
FXUS66 KHNX 022130
AFDHNX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
230 PM PDT Thu May 2 2024

.KEY MESSAGES...

1. Warming conditions will continue through Friday with highs
rising to 3 to 7 degrees above normal on Friday.

2. A weekend storm system will bring significant snowfall to
the Sierra Nevada and rainfall to the San Joaquin Valley and
Sierra foothills as well as breezy to windy conditions across
the mountains and deserts.

3. High temperatures are forecast to cool to around 10 to 15
degrees below normal by Sunday.

4. Dry weather and a warming trend will take place Monday
through Thursday.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Dry and mild conditions, with some moderate gusty breezes,
continue again today across central California in a
northwesterly flow aloft. We will remain unseasonably warm on
Friday in advance of an approaching low pressure system dropping
out of the Gulf of Alaska. High temperatures on Friday will be
around 3-7 degrees above normal values for early May.

The incoming low pressure system will begin to impact our area
by Saturday, bringing cooler temperatures, stronger gusty winds
and significant amounts of rain and mountain snow. QPF is
around 1/4 to 1/2 inch along the east side of the San Joaquin
Valley, increasing to as much as 1 to 1.25 inches higher up in
the surrounding terrain below the snow line. Up to around one
tenth of an inch is expected farther west and in the south end
of the Valley, as well as for the Kern County mountains. Little
to no precip is forecast for the desert areas of Kern County.

Snow levels will start out at or above 8000 ft Saturday morning
as the precipitation arrives, falling to 5 to 6 thousand feet by
Saturday night and to 4 to 5 thousand feet by Sunday morning as
the snow is coming to an end. The low end forecast(90% chance for
at least this amount) shows around 1 to 3 inches over much of
the Sierra above 5000 ft, with around 5 to 10 inches over the
highest elevations. The high end forecast(10% chance for this
amount or more) shows as much as 12 to 22 inches over much of
the higher elevation Sierra. A Winter Weather Advisory has been
issued for the Sierra above 5000 feet for Saturday through
Sunday morning, as the expected snowfall will be impactful to
persons traveling and engaging in recreational activities in
the Sierra this weekend.

Winds will also increase with the passing system on Saturday and
Sunday, especially over the mountain ridges and in the
typically wind prone areas of Kern County. Probabilities are
around 50 to 70 percent for wind gusts of at least 50 mph in
these areas.

Sunday will see temperatures around 8 to 12 degrees below normal
on the backside of the low pressure system, then dry and
steadily warming conditions are on tap for the remainder of
next week, with highs back to around 3 to 7 degrees above normal
by Thursday.

&&


.AVIATION...
VFR conditions will prevail across the central CA
interior for at least the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...

None.



&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is high.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is medium.

Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit
www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information
and/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Winter Weather Advisory above 5000 feet from 11 AM Saturday to
8 AM PDT Sunday for CAZ323-326.
Winter Weather Advisory above 5000 feet from 2 PM Saturday to
8 AM PDT Sunday for CAZ327>330.
&&

$$

public/aviation...JEB
IDSS..............EW

weather.gov/hanford