Projected Precipitation for Mariposa 0.25"- 0.50" Lowered from 0.50"- 1.00"
Projected Precipitation for Oakhurst 0.25"- 0.50" Lowered from 0.50"- 1.00"
Projected Precipitation for Yosemite Valley 0.50"- 1.00" No Change
March 16, 2022 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a storm system will impact Central California Saturday through Sunday.
The snow level will start at around 6,000 feet Saturday, before dropping to around 4,000 feet by Sunday morning.
The majority of this precipitation will fall Saturday evening and Saturday night.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 423 AM PDT Wed Mar 16 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Upper level trough will continue to bring an increase in winds across the area through this morning as the system exits the region later today. Strongest wind gusts will occur in wind favored locations such as through and below the mountain passes in Kern County. Dry weather will continue through Friday, before a storm system brings valley rain and mountain snow this weekend. Warm and dry weather will then return by the beginning of next week. && .DISCUSSION... An upper level disturbance over the southern half of California will continue to bring increased westerly winds to the area with the strongest gusty conditions occurring in the wind favored locations such as through and below the mountain passes of Kern County through this morning. Gusts just over 50 mph have already occurred over the last several hours near Cache Creek along State Route 58 in the Tehachapi mountains of Kern County. A wind advisory remains in effect until 9AM this morning due to this wind threat. Shortwave ridging in the wake of this disturbance will bring a warming trend with above normal temperatures through Friday. By Friday high temperatures across the area will run about 5 to 9 degrees above the normal levels which currently sit at 67 for Fresno and 70 degrees at Bako. However, cooling temperatures and wetter weather will not be far behind as a digging Pacific Northwest trough moves southeastward into the region early on Saturday. As this trough digs into the southwest CONUS, it will quickly begin to strengthen as it moves eastward into the central US on Sunday but not before it increases winds and the chances of precipitation for our area along with a return to slightly below normal temperatures. A trace to a quarter of an inch in rainfall for most parts of the San Joaquin Valley with the lesser amounts in the western parts of the valley. One quarter to about a half of an inch in rainfall could fall in the far eastern parts of the SJV and the lower foothills, while a half on an inch to around three quarters of an inch is a good bet in the higher elevations. Snow levels will start out around 6000 feet with the onset of precipitation on Saturday and then fall to around 3500 to 4000 feet by Sunday morning when the precipitation begins to taper off. The Grapevine and Tehachapi city areas look to see mainly the liquid variety of precipitation for most of the event but by early Sunday morning a change over to the frozen variety could cause travel issues on the Tehachapi and Grapevine passes. Snow amounts in these locations look to be less than an inch, however we know that even small amounts of snowfall in these areas make for difficult travel situations. In the higher elevations of the Sierra snow will range from a trace to six inches in depth, with a few localized accumulations up to 8 inches possible. Winds will once again be highest through and below the wind favored passes and canyons. At this time the stronger winds will take place early Sunday. By Monday, in the wake of this strengthening low by then sitting over the Texas panhandle region, a very large Pacific ridge will begin to move into the western CONUS. Very warm high temperatures, about 13 to 20 degrees above normal levels, will develop over the region by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Fresno and Bakersfield will see high temperatures in the lower to mid 80s for those two days. There currently is a 96 percent chance of a high temperature of at least 80 degrees for Fresno next Wednesday. Bakersfield that chance sits at 92 percent. Early summer-like warmth returns. On a personal note, a promotion will take me back a bit closer to my birthplace, the little quaint village called Chicago, and will be stationed in the Hoosier state. So time to dust off my snow boots and sharpen my snow shovel once again. As this may likely be my last discussion here before I leave, I do want to thank all of the public and partners that I have gotten a chance to meet and talk meteorology with over the last 10 and a half years or so here in central California. You have all been great hosts. So I say farewell at least for now, who knows what the future will bring. Thanks for the great memories. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions will prevail over the central CA interior for the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... None.Source: NWS
