Projected rainfall totals for Mariposa: 0.50" to 1.00"
Projected rainfall totals for Oakhurst: 0.50" to 1.00"
Projected rainfall totals for Yosemite Valley: 0.50" to 1.00"
December 20, 2019 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a storm system will bring periods of rain and mountain snow to the Central California Interior Sunday morning through Monday night.
Snow will fall generally above 4500 feet in the Sierra north of Kings Canyon and above 5500 feet over the mountains of Tulare and Kern counties.
Above are the latest projected rain and snowfall amounts.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 343 AM PST Fri Dec 20 2019 .SYNOPSIS...Dry weather and mild afternoon temperatures can be expected over the district through Saturday. A storm system will bring rain and high elevation snow to the region from midday Sunday into Monday night along with cooler temperatures. Christmas Eve will be dry except for a few residual showers over the mountains and desert. Rain and mountain snow will return by Christmas Day and linger into Thursday. && .DISCUSSION...A change to a stormy weather pattern will become established over the Golden State later this weekend and it will likely remain pretty active through the end of next week with frequent bouts of precipitation. There are at least a few storms that will impact the central California interior during the next 7 days. Each of them will bring rain to the lower elevations and snow to the mountains. By this time next week, we can confidently claim that the Sierra snowpack will be deeper than it is now and additional rain that falls in the lower elevations will keep precipitation totals at or above their seasonal norms in many locations. Through tomorrow, however, our weather will be relatively pleasant by December standards, thanks to a dry southwesterly flow aloft over central California and an upper level ridge of high pressure over the Desert Southwest. There`s a good deal of cirrus embedded in the southwesterly flow, but even with sunshine filtering through these high clouds, high temperatures will run several degrees above normal in most areas through Saturday. In some locations of the south valley and lower foothills, thermometer readings could warm into the lower 70s Saturday afternoon. Additionally, southerly winds will become gusty over the Kern county mountain passes Saturday and could gust to 45 mph or so over the Grapevine and along the valley facing slopes of the Tehachapi mountains Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning ahead of the next approaching storm system. A Wind advisory may be necessary for this region if we feel gusty winds will be more widespread than we`re currently thinking. This might be the only initial impact of our approaching storm system this weekend. A Pacific cold front associated with that storm will move inland across the CWA Sunday afternoon and evening with its precipitation. Snow levels will range from about 4500 feet in the Sierra north of Kings Canyon to about 5500 feet over the mountains of Tulare county and Kern county Sunday. Although the upper level trough behind this front remains offshore, it will still bring at least a chance of showers to much of the CWA Sunday night into Monday as it gravitates southward into southern California. The front could actually stall for a time over the Kern county mountains and desert later this weekend, especially if the upper level trough remains farther offshore. If so, precipitation totals will be a little higher than we`re currently forecasting. Otherwise, by the time this storm system exits east of our CWA Monday night, we can expect rain totals of around a quarter of an inch in the San Joaquin Valley and the Kern county desert with totals of a half inch to three quarters of an inch in the mountains. The storm will likely bring a few to several inches of snow to the mountains. Up to a foot of new snow is possible over the highest elevations of the Sierra around Yosemite with wintry impacts for motorists, hikers and campers late in the weekend into early next week. We should get a break from wet weather, albeit brief on Christmas eve as a weak short wave ridge of high pressure settles over the district. Another storm will be right on the heels of our late weekend storm and it will likely bring a return of rain and mountain snow to the central California interior Christmas Day into Thursday. This will be a colder storm with the possibility of accumulating snow at elevations as low as 3,000 feet during the Christmas holiday. Specific details on snow amounts and rain totals on this storm will depend on the track of this storm. The ECM keeps it offshore while the GFS brings it inland. Whatever the case, there will be additional wintry impacts for hikers and motorists along with possible travel delays. The models come back into agreement by late Thursday and forecast another short wave ridge to move in over central California. This should provide the district with another brief, precipitation-free period Thursday afternoon through Thursday night. Afterward, the models forecast another storm with a more inland track that could brush the mountains and desert with additional precipitation next Friday. At this time, the storm on day 7 looks like it will bring little if any additional impacts for holiday travelers. One thing we`re more certain of is the return to colder weather next week. Monday through Friday will be more seasonable and perhaps slightly below normal, temperature-wise, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas. How appropriate is that? After all, Winter officially begins Saturday at 8:19 pm PST.Source: NWS
