Projected rainfall totals for Mariposa: 1.50" to 2.00"
Projected rainfall totals for Oakhurst: 1.00" to 1.50"
Projected rainfall totals for Yosemite Valley: 1.50" to 2.00"
May 15, 2019 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a storm system will impact Central California Wednesday night into early Friday morning.
Heavy snow is likely in the Southern Sierra Nevada above 7,000 feet, where a Winter Storm Warning is in effect.
Most of this precipitation will fall Wednesday night & Thursday morning.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA 225 AM PDT Wed May 15 2019 .SYNOPSIS... A disturbance will impact the forecast area starting tonight through Friday morning brining valley rain and mountain snow. A series of storm systems arriving on Saturday night and continuing through Tuesday will bring unsettled wet weather to the region. && .DISCUSSION... Today, there will be a sharp fall in high temperatures today due significant cloud cover associated with the upcoming trough/atmospheric river event coming tonight, leading to highs 5-9 degrees cooler than yesterday. By mid afternoon today, a few upsloping showers will be possible in the Sierra Nevada north of Tulare County, with increasing coverage towards the evening. A few showers may also be possible in the valley this evening as difluent pattern aloft occurs over the district. By tonight, high resolution model guidance is showing the cold frontal band/heavy rain passing through the CWA between 06z and 15z depending on location. Locally gusty winds in the western portion of the valley will precede the frontal passage as well. Rainfall totals near 1/2" to 3/4" may occur through tomorrow morning in the northern portion of the SJ Valley and totals up to 1/3" in the southern portion of the valley. In terms of mountain snow, snow levels will begin around 8500 feet in the Southern Sierra tonight, and will fall to around 5000-5500 feet by late Thursday morning. See our Winter Storm Warning for more details on the Sierra Nevada snow. Post frontal convective activity also would seem conceivable tomorrow afternoon in the SJ Valley, especially if there are breaks in the clouds by late morning. Thunderstorms that may occur under the cold pooling aloft could be capable of small hail, gusty winds, locally heavy rain, and perhaps even a funnel cloud or two -- much like the thunderstorms we saw earlier this year Jan through March. Lingering moisture from today`s/tomorrow`s storm may induce light precipitation Friday as a weak impulse grazes the forecast area. Late Friday night/Saturday morning, ECM and GFS are showing shortwave ridging occuring over Central California, which may provide a brief break from the active weather. However, this ridge will quickly be broken down as another storm approaches the CWA from the northwest. Additional valley rain and mountain snow are progged to occur with this system through Sunday, but details on accumulations are not clear yet. By Monday, there could be another break from the precipitation in Central California before another storm on Tuesday, however the specific details of this third storm are not clear this far out. Thereafter, EPS progs show the Pacific Jet staying active/very strong through the foreseeable future, which likely corresponds with the CPC`s Day 6-10 and 8-14 Precipitation Outlook, which both have California at above-normal precip chances compared to May climatology favored.Source: NWS