Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS San Joaquin Valley, CA

Home | Current Version | Previous Version | Text Only | Print | Product List | Glossary On
Versions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
000
FXUS66 KHNX 281045
AFDHNX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
345 AM PDT Thu Mar 28 2024


.KEY MESSAGES...

1. There is a 65 percent chance for at least 8 inches of snow
for elevations above 7,000 feet in Yosemite National Park through
5 PM Thursday.

2. A Wind Advisory will be in effect from 11 AM Thursday through
1 AM Friday for the Kern County Deserts and Mountain Slopes.

3. There is around generally a 60 to 90 percent chance of one
foot of snow or more in the Sierra Nevada above 5,500 feet
Friday afternoon through Sunday, mainly Fresno County north.

4. There is around 55 to 75 percent chance of one inch of rain
or more in the Sierra Nevada foothills and about 25 to 50
percent for the Kern County mountains Friday afternoon through
Sunday.

5. Dry and warming trend is forecast to occur early next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A short wave trough is bringing light to moderate precipitation
to areas mainly north of Kern County. Rainfall amounts thus far
are generally a few hundredths to around one tenth of an inch
across the San Joaquin Valley with one quarter to one half of an
inch in the Mariposa and Madera County portions of the Sierra
Nevada. Precipitation will continue through the morning then
taper off this afternoon. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in
effect above 7000 feet for Yosemite NP outside of the valley and
for the Upper San Joaquin River through 5 PM this afternoon.
There is a 65 percent chance for at least 8 inches of snow above
7000 feet in Yosemite NP outside of the valley. A tightening
onshore surface pressure gradient will result in strong westerly
wind gusts across the Mojave Slopes and Kern County desert today.
A Wind Advisory is in effect for these areas from 11 AM this
morning until 1 AM on Friday. Strongest gusts will occur around
Indian Wells Canyon where the probabilities for 45 mph or higher
gusts are 90 percent.

A stronger storm system is on tap for Friday into the weekend as
energy from the Gulf of Alaska drops south and develops a closed
upper low off the northern California coast. Moist southwesterly
aloft will be focused over central California Friday night into
Saturday morning when the bulk of the precipitation is expected
to occur. The Weather Prediction Center has placed the entire
forecast area outside of the Sierra Nevada under a Marginal Risk
for excessive rainfall on Friday and Saturday. Probabilities for
one inch of rainfall are generally 55 to 75 percent across the
Sierra Nevada foothills and generally 25 to 50 percent over the
Kern County mountains, highest around the Frazier Park and Pine
Mountain Club communities. Snow levels are expected to be near
5000 feet for the majority of the event. Probabilities for one
foot of snowfall from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon are
generally 60 to 90 percent over the Sierra Nevada and 40 to 60
percent around Pine Mountain Club. Generally light showers will
continue Saturday afternoon through Sunday then taper off Sunday
night. Snow levels lower to around 4500 feet Sunday morning and
could result in some mixed precipitation along the Tehachapi and
Tejon Passes.

An upper ridge builds in from the eastern Pacific Monday through
Wednesday. A warming trend will result with maximum temperatures
forecast to be around 4 to 8 degrees above climatological normal
by Wednesday. Normal highs across the San Joaquin Valley are in
the lower 70s. Probabilities for a max temperature of 80 degrees
or higher across the SJ Valley on Wednesday generally range from
25 to 50 percent.

&&

.AVIATION...
Areas of MVFR with local mountain obscuring IFR conditions in
precipitation for areas mainly north of Kern County. Otherwise,
VFR conditions will prevail across Central California 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...

Wind Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 1 AM PDT Friday for
CAZ337>339.

Winter Weather Advisory above 7000 feet until 5 PM PDT this
afternoon for CAZ323-326.

&&

$$

DCH

weather.gov/hanford


USA.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services.