Projected Precipitation for Mariposa 1.00" - 1.50"
Projected Precipitation for Oakhurst 0.50" - 1.00"
Projected Precipitation for Yosemite Valley 1.00" - 1.50"
April 18, 2022 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports a significant storm system will produce precipitation across most of the area Thursday through Friday.Snow levels will start at around 7,000 feet Thursday, before dropping to about 5,000 feet by Friday morning.
One to two feet of snow is possible over the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite Park while 9 to 18 inches of snow is possible over the higher elevations in Madera and Fresno Counties.
The majority of this precipitation will fall Thursday night.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 406 AM PDT Mon Apr 18 2022 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will provide for dry weather along with a warming trend through today. A weak system may bring some light precipitation to Fresno County northward on Tuesday. A stronger storm system is expected to impact our entire forecast area Thursday and Friday. && .DISCUSSION... After a beautiful Easter Sunday, we can expect nearly the exact same conditions today...with some locations getting a degree or two warmer. Ensemble guidance from the NBM is advertising a trough to move across the region on Tuesday with temperatures dropping 5 to 7 degrees and breezy conditions across the CWA. QPF amounts are expected to be light with up to 0.50" of liquid possible over Yosemite with snow levels around 6800 feet. Snow amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible in the higher elevations of the park. This system will quickly move out by Tuesday evening and a zonal flow sets up across the region with dry and seasonable temperatures for Wednesday. The NBM is advertising a stronger system to move into the region on Wednesday night and continue through Friday afternoon. Once again we are not expecting heavy rain in the SJV, with amounts of around 0.5" north of Fresno county to around a 0.1" near BFL. However we are expecting 1 to 2 feet of snow in the high Sierra... especially over Yosemite National Park south to Sequoia National Park. Snow levels will start out around 7000 feet on Wednesday night and lower to around 5000 feet by Friday afternoon. The bulk of the precip will occur with the frontal passage Thursday afternoon into Thursday night. We are expecting the chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon mainly Fresno county northward. Some storms may become strong with small hail, gusty winds and heavy rain. Winds will be gusty as the front pushes through Thursday across the Kern county desert. Showers are possible after the frontal passage through Friday as the upper level low pressure center moves across the region. We may see some isolated thunderstorms on Friday morning as well. The system clears out on Friday evening with a nice weekend in store next weekend. Near normal temps on Saturday and above just normal temperatures on Sunday and well above normal next Monday with dry conditions expected. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions will prevail across the Central CA interior for at least the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... None.Source: NWS
