Mariposa projected rainfall totals for weekend weather system less than 0.10"

Oakhurst projected rainfall totals for weekend weather system 0.10" to 0.25"

Yosemite Valley projected rainfall totals for weekend weather system 0.25" to 0.50"

February 28, 2020 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a storm system will bring mainly light rain and mountain snows to parts of the Central California Interior from late Saturday afternoon through Sunday night.

Snow levels will drop as low as 3000 feet Sunday.

Above are the latest projected rain and snowfall amounts.

---

  Area Forecast Discussion 
  National Weather Service Hanford CA 
  410 AM PST Fri Feb 28 2020 
   
   
  .SYNOPSIS...Near-record high temperatures are possible across the 
  much of the San Joaquin Valley today. A storm system will bring  
  much cooler weather and a chance of showers to much of the 
  district on Sunday, with the best chances of measurable  
  precipitation remaining in the Sierra and Kern County mountains.  
  Ridge builds back into the region by next week, with dry weather  
  returning to the area.  
   
  && 
   
  .DISCUSSION...IR satellite imagery showing extensive cloud cover  
  across the district which has kept current temperatures in the  
  50s. Low temperatures will end up near 50 in most locations, which 
  is more common for late April! Despite the overcast skies,the  
  central California interior will experience one last day of near- 
  record temperatures. The daily record for Fresno is 79 degrees,  
  with an expected high of 81 degrees. Bakersfield`s record high  
  temperature for the date is 81 degrees, with an expected high of  
  82 degrees. The upper level ridge responsible for the warm  
  temperatures continues to shift east, giving way to a zonal flow  
  by this evening.  
   
  Zonal flow will remain across the area for a majority of Saturday 
  before turning to more of a southwesterly flow ahead of the  
  approaching system. Cooler, onshore flow will lower temperatures  
  by as much as 10 degrees across the valley, but will still remain 
  above normal by 5 to 10 degrees for this time of year. A few  
  orographic showers will be possible in the higher elevations of  
  the Sierra by Saturday evening. 
   
  Main cold core of the upper level low will drop south through the 
  region on Sunday. Models are beginning to show subtle differences 
  in the exact positioning of the upper level low. The  
  GFS/ECMWF/GDPS model solutions show the cold core further west  
  near the Bay Area, and subsequently drawing more moisture into  
  the system. However, the NAM and higher resolution NAM12 has the  
  upper level low centered near Mono Lake, which would translate  
  into much less precipitation. Since the NAM12 is the sole outlier, 
  we have opted to go with a more western track of the cold core  
  low. This model solution is also more in line with the current  
  WPC/NBM QPF guidance. As the main cold core low move over the  
  region, instability will increase across the area and isolated  
  thunderstorms are possible on late Sunday morning and afternoon.  
  Small hail and dangerous lightning are the primary threats.  
  Additionally, temperatures will continue to drop, with high  
  temperatures remaining in the 50s.  
   
  This system is not expected to produce significant rainfall in  
  the valley nor Kern County desert, with amounts generally at 1/10 
  of an inch or less. Higher QPF amounts is expected in the Sierra, 
  with general amounts between 1/4 to 2/3 of an inch. Lighter  
  QPF amounts are expected into Kern County mountains, where  
  between 1/10 and 1/4 of an inch is possible. Snow is expected in  
  the Sierra, especially north of Tulare County into Yosemite 
  National Park. Since this is a colder system, snow levels across  
  the district will drop to as low as 3000 feet by Sunday morning, 
  where a dusting is possible along the Grapevine and Tehachapi  
  Pass. Snowfall totals will increase going northward, where general 
  amounts between 3 to 6 inches, with locally up to 8 inches.  
   
  On Monday, the attention will turn from precipitation to the  
  chance of strong winds in the Central Sierra mountains and  
  foothills. Models are showing strong northeasterly winds aloft  
  late Sunday into Monday. Again, the uncertainty with the exact 
  position and strength remains low at this time.  
   
  From Tuesday into the end of the forecast period next Friday, 
  Ridge of high pressure returns to the area. Temperatures will  
  once again increase to above normal values along with dry weather 
  returning to the area. 

Source: NWS