Sunrise 5:59 AM   Sunset 7:50 PM Moonrise 3:34 AM   Moonset 2:58 PM

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FXUS66 KHNX 030820 AFDHNX

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 120 AM PDT Fri May 3 2024

KEY MESSAGES

1. The ongoing warming trend will continue today with daytime highs rising to 4 to 7 degrees above normal.

2. A weekend storm system will bring significant snowfall to the Sierra Nevada and rainfall to the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra foothills as well as breezy to windy conditions across the mountains and deserts.

3. High temperatures are forecast to cool to around 10 to 15 degrees below normal by Sunday.

4. Dry weather and a warming trend will take place Monday through Friday.

DISCUSSION
An offshore ridge will continue to keep dry conditions across our area today with a northwest flow aloft.
The warming trend which began yesterday will continue today with daytime highs expected to be 4 to 7 DEG F above daily climatological normals across our CWFA. A fairly strong onshore gradient will provide for breezy conditions through this morning along the Mojave Desert Slopes.

A big change will occur over the weekend as a large upper low drops southeast out of the Gulf of AK today and into the PAC NW and Norcal by Saturday which will bring increased clouds and much cooler temperatures to our area. Precipitation is progged to reach the northern portion of our CWFA by late Saturday morning and push southward through our area Saturday afternoon and evening. WPC QPF progs are continuing to indicate close to a quarter inch to half inch of rain along the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, increasing to as much as 1 to 1.25 inches of rain higher up in the surrounding terrain below the snow line.
Up to around one tenth of an inch of rain is expected farther west and in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, as well as for the Kern County mountains. Little to no precipitation is forecast for the Kern County deserts.

Snow levels are progged to be above 8000 feet at the on set of the precipitation on Saturday but will lower to 5000 to 6000 feet Saturday night and to 4000 to 5000 feet by the time the precipitation ends Sunday morning. QPF progs are still suggesting 5 to 10 inches of snowfall above 7000 feet between midday Saturday and Sunday morning. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for the Sierra above 5000 feet for Saturday through Sunday morning, as the expected snowfall will be impactful to persons traveling and engaging in recreational activities in the Sierra this weekend.

Another impact from this system will be a period of gusty winds over the mountain ridges and in the Kern County Deserts. Latest NBM probabilistic guidance continues to indicate a 50 to 70 percent chance of wind gusts exceeding 50 mph on Satruday night and Sunday along the Mojave Desert slopes and across the Kern County deserts.

Unseasonably cool temperatures will prevail across our area on Sunday as colder air pushes into our area behind the upper low.
Daytime highs area progged to be 10 to 15 DEG F below climatological normals. Latest NBM probabilistic guidance indicates most of the San Joaquin Valley has a 80 to 100 percent probability of daytime highs below 70 DEG F on Sunday.

The medium range ensemble means have converged on the idea with an upper ridge amplifying offshore near 135W early next week then slowly building inland through next Friday. This would provide for dry weather across our area for next Monday through Friday and bring a day to day warming trend with temperatures recovering to near normal levels by Thursday and rise to above normal by the end of next week.

AVIATION
VFR conditions will prevail across the central CA interior for at least the next 24 hours.

AIR QUALITY ISSUES
None.

CERTAINTY

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is medium.

Certainty levels include low
medium
and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information and/or to provide feedback.

HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
Winter Weather Advisory above 5000 feet from 11 AM Saturday to 8 AM PDT Sunday for CAZ323-326.
Winter Weather Advisory above 5000 feet from 2 PM Saturday to 8 AM PDT Sunday for CAZ327>330.

Brandt Bridge
Click for Map
Fri -- 02:52 AM PDT     0.68 knots Max Flood
Fri -- 03:42 AM PDT     Moonrise
Fri -- 05:36 AM PDT     -0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 06:06 AM PDT     Sunrise
Fri -- 08:59 AM PDT     -0.76 knots Max Ebb
Fri -- 12:04 PM PDT     0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 02:29 PM PDT     0.53 knots Max Flood
Fri -- 03:04 PM PDT     Moonset
Fri -- 04:50 PM PDT     -0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 07:58 PM PDT     Sunset
Fri -- 08:42 PM PDT     -1.07 knots Max Ebb
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION

Brandt Bridge, San Joaquin River, California Current, knots

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San Joaquin Valley, CA,