April 15, 2019 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Southern Sierra Nevada form Yosemite to Kings Canyon above 5,000 feet from 2:00 PM Monday until 8:00 AM Tuesday.
Snow will begin as early as Monday morning but the heaviest snowfall is expected Monday evening and overnight Monday night.
Motorists should anticipate travel delays with slick, hazardous road conditions, as well as the potential for road closures above 5,000 feet.
If you plan to travel, consider alternate strategies.
If you must travel, remember to carry tire chains, plenty of food, a good deal of water, and warm clothing in your vehicle.
Campers and hikers should be prepared for the onset of more winter like weather conditions.
For information on road conditions, including closures or delays, call Caltrans at 1-800-427-7623 or visit http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 326 AM PDT Mon Apr 15 2019 .SYNOPSIS... A storm system will move in this afternoon bringing precipitation and increased winds through Tuesday. Temperatures will cool to near normal today then a little below normal on Tuesday. Dry conditions return Wednesday with a warming trend through the end of the week. .DISCUSSION... Upper ridge provided an unseasonably warm day for lower elevations on Sunday with high temperatures in the lower to mid 80s. Ridge is being flattened now as an upper trough approaches the Pacific NW. This trough will bring in a cooler air mass more typical for this time of year as well as precipitation and increased winds from this afternoon through Tuesday. Precipitation will begin moving in over northern California later this morning and gradually spread south through the day. The latest model runs have slowed the system a bit and it now looks like the precip will likely hold off until the late afternoon for our area. While not a huge system and it does move through fairly quickly, it will produce enough snowfall for parts of the Sierra Nevada to warrant a Winter Weather Advisory. Snow levels will be around 8000 at the onset this afternoon, then lower to 6000 feet overnight and as low as 5000 feet by Tuesday morning. The Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Sierra Nevada above 5000 feet from Yosemite NP to the northern portion of Kings Canyon NP from 5 PM Monday through 11 AM Tuesday. This time frame was pushed back 3 hours from earlier thinking due to the slower models solutions. The bulk of the snow will occur Monday evening, but lingering snow showers and lowering snow levels will last into Tuesday morning. Total snow accumulation of 4-8 inches is forecast for the Advisory area. Around 1-4 inches is possible farther south from Sequoia NP to the Tulare/Kern County line. Rainfall amounts will generally be from a quarter to one-half of an inch in the mountains. Amounts in the San Joaquin Valley will generally be just a few hundredths to a tenth of an inch, though a few areas around and east of Merced and Madera could see as much as a quarter of an inch. Showers are expected to taper off Tuesday as the system shifts to the east. Winds will increase this afternoon as the surface pressure gradient tightens in response to the incoming trough. A Wind Advisory has been issued for a portion of the Kern County Mountains and into the Desert from Noon today through 11 PM Tuesday. The strongest winds are expected through and just below the mountain passes, especially in the vicinity of Mojave where gusts to around 55 mph are possible. There will be a decrease in wind speeds for some areas tonight, but gusts will increase again on Tuesday before tapering off later that night. Breezy conditions will develop across the San Joaquin Valley with gusts of 20-30 mph, mainly along the western side. High pressure ridge quickly builds in from the Pacific on Wednesday and remains in control through the end of the week. This will bring dry weather along with a significant warming trend. Temperatures on Wednesday will be back near normal and then rise to several degrees above normal Thursday and Friday. Highs Friday are forecast to be 10-15 degrees above normal for mid April with parts of the SJV and Kern County Desert possibly reaching 90 degrees. But the models are suggesting the heat will be brief as another trough pushes into the west coast next weekend for cooling and possibly more wet weather.
Source: NWS