A chance of thunderstorms this afternoon for Mariposa, Oakhurst and Yosemite Valley
March 22, 2020 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a few strong thunderstorms are possible in the Central California interior through the evening.
Funnel clouds, small hail, and wind gusts near 40 miles per hour are some of the hazards associated with strong thunderstorms.
In addition to dangerous cloud to ground lightning strikes, any thunderstorm can produce intense rainfall rates, leading to localized flooding.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 323 AM PDT Sun Mar 22 2020 .SYNOPSIS...A Pacific storm system will bring widespread rain and mountain snow to the region this afternoon through Monday. Another system will bring more rain and mountain snow from Tuesday through Thursday. && .DISCUSSION... The remnants of a weak upper trough over the region has sparked a few light showers in the last couple hours. Showers are mainly across northern Kings and Tulare Counties with an isolated shower near Squaw Valley in the Sierra Foothills as well. The high-res models are not picking up on this. But don`t expect these showers to last too long with only a trace to a few hundredths of an inch of rain likely. Satellite water vapor imagery shows an upper low spinning about 500 miles off the coast of southern California. This system will track east northeast today and begin to spread precipitation over the district by this afternoon. Model consensus shows the center of the low crossing over the coast just north of Point Conception late Sunday night. It`s then expected to accelerate eastward as an open wave over northern Arizona by Monday afternoon. The bulk of the precipitation will fall Sunday night into Monday morning. QPF gives from a quarter to half an inch rain for the San Joaquin Valley and Kern County Mountains, with one to two tenths possible in the Kern County Desert. The Sierra Nevada looks to receive a half to one inch liquid. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Sierra above 6000 feet from 3 PM this afternoon through 8 AM Monday. Snow amounts should generally range from 4-7 inches with local amounts up to 10 inches. A few inches could fall down to 5000 feet Monday morning as well. Scattered light showers are possible through the rest of Monday, but amounts should be light. Winds will increase in the wake of this system and could approach advisory criteria through the Kern County Mountain passes into the desert Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning. The wet pattern continues as a colder storm system drops south along the Pacific Northwest coast Monday night and over northern California on Tuesday. Models slowly shift it southward to over SoCal by Thursday. Precip looks fairly light Monday night into Tuesday morning, mainly from Yosemite to Kings Canyon NP. Most of the precip is expected in the Sierra Tuesday night through Wednesday with snow levels falling to near 3000 feet Wednesday morning. Snow levels are also expected to lower to the major pass levels in the Kern County Mountains by Thursday morning. Expect showers to taper off Thursday night with dry weather returning Friday into next weekend.
Source: NWS
