490
FXUS66 KHNX 211652
AFDHNX
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
952 AM PDT TUE APR 21 2026
KEY MESSAGES
1. WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA ABOVE
7,000 FT UNTIL 5 PM WEDNESDAY.
2. WIND ADVISORY FOR THE KERN COUNTY DESERT THIS AFTERNOON INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING AND THE MOJAVE DESERT SLOPES FROM THIS
AFTERNOON UNTIL WEDNESDAY EVENING.
3. AN APPROACHING CUT-OFF LOW BRINGS PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL
AND MOUNTAIN SNOW THROUGH THIS EVENING, WITH FAVORABLE
CONDITIONS FOR CONVECTIVE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
DISCUSSION
CURRENTLY, A BAND OF PRECIPITATION IS GRADUALLY MOVING INLAND,
BASED ON LATEST RADAR AND SATELLITE DATA. DEEPER CONVECTION IS
OFFSHORE AND MOVING INLAND OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. ADDITIONAL
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP BY THIS AFTERNOON IN OUR
FORECAST AREA. AS MUCH AS A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
EXISTS FOR OUR REGION FOR TODAY. NORTHERN PORTIONS, INCLUDING
FRESNO COUNTY NORTHWARD, ARE NOW UNDER A MARGINAL RISK FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS, PER THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER.
OTHERWISE, ADDITIONAL SNOW WILL FALL IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF
THE SIERRA NEVADA UNTIL WEDNESDAY WITH CURRENT SNOW LEVELS
AROUND 7,000 FEET LOWERING TO 4,500 FEET BY LATE TONIGHT.
STRONG, GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS
AND INTO THE KERN COUNTY DESERT BY THIS AFTERNOON. ACTIVE
WEATHER CONTINUES THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WITH ADDITIONAL
CHANCES FOR AFTERNOON/EVENING THUNDERSTORMS, AS WELL AS GUSTY
WINDS AND PRECIPITATION.
WE GET A BREAK FROM ACTIVE WEATHER LATE THIS WEEK WITH NEAR TO
ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY, BUT
ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM BRINGS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR
PRECIPITATION THIS WEEKEND, MAINLY OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA AND
ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL ALSO OCCUR INTO
EARLY NEXT WEEK IN THESE PARTICULAR AREAS. OVERALL, WE'RE NOT
LOOKING AT SIGNIFICANT WARMING THROUGH NEXT WEEK, OR SIMILAR TO
WHAT TOOK PLACE LAST WEEKEND INTO YESTERDAY.
AVIATION
MVFR WITH LOCAL IFR OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.
OTHERWISE, VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA FOR THE NEXT 24
HOURS, WITH VALLEY AND FOOTHILL MVFR CONDITIONS IN AND AROUND
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY.
AIR QUALITY ISSUES
NONE.
CERTAINTY
THE LEVEL OF CERTAINTY FOR DAYS 1 AND 2 IS HIGH.
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
WIND ADVISORY FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM PDT WEDNESDAY
FOR CAZ338.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM PDT WEDNESDAY FOR CAZ323-
326>328-330.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 AM PDT WEDNESDAY
FOR CAZ337-339.
BSO
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
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