542  
FXUS66 KHNX 261120 AAA  
AFDHNX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA  
420 AM PDT SAT APR 26 2025  
 
   
UPDATE
 
 
UPDATED AVIATION SECTION.  
 

 
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
1. WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE MOJAVE DESERT THIS  
WEEKEND WITH A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE MOJAVE SLOPES.  
 
2. TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH COOLER THAN CLIMATOLOGICAL AVERAGE  
THIS WEEKEND THEN TRENDING WARMER NEXT WEEK.  
 
2. WINTER-LIKE WEATHER TODAY AS VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW  
WILL BE OBSERVED.  
 
3. A SLIGHT CHANCE (15%) FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY, MAINLY DURING  
THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
CHANGE IN THE WEATHER IS NOW BEING USHERED-IN AS A PACIFIC  
STORM APPROACHES THE WEST COAST. AHEAD OF THE STORM ON SATURDAY,  
CLOUDS AND WINDS ARE STARTING IN INCREASE AS TEMPERATURES  
CONTINUE THEIR COOLING TREND. SATELLITE WATER VAPOR IMAGERY IS  
SHOWING THE STORM TAKING SHAPE AND STARTING ITS DROP TOWARD  
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. HIGH-RES SHORT-RANGE ENSEMBLES STILL PLACING  
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA IN THE TARGET ZONE AS A THE COLD-CORE UPPER  
LOW TRAVERSES THE AREA ON SATURDAY.  
 
ENSEMBLE ANALYSIS STILL LEANING TOWARD WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION  
BECOMING LIKELY ACROSS MOST OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. MOUNTAIN  
LOCATIONS STILL HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF MEASURABLE AMOUNTS.  
CURRENT POE OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION SITS AT 30%-40% FROM  
MERCED COUNTY TOWARD YOSEMITE NP ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND 30%-50% ON  
SATURDAY WITH NEAR 60-70% FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS NEAR  
YOSEMITE. THEREFORE, WHILE CONFIDENCE ON MOUNTAIN PRECIPITATION  
IS GROWING, VALLEY RAIN STILL HAS HIGH UNCERTAINTY SOUTH OF  
FRESNO COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE A THREAT THIS WEEKEND OVER  
MUCH OF THE AREA AS PROBABILITIES STILL TRENDING HIGHER OVER THE  
LAST FEW DAYS. THIS THREAT INCLUDES THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY,  
FOOTHILLS AND SIERRA NEVADA. STORM MOVES OUT AROUND SUNDAY WITH  
RIDGING, DRYING AND WARMING DOMINATING THE PERIOD FROM MONDAY  
THROUGH AT LEAST NEXT THURSDAY.  
 
AS FOR THE WINDS, ENSEMBLE SURFACE WIND ANALYSIS SHOWS AN  
INCREASE IN GUSTS OVER THE MOJAVE DESERT AS SPEEDS REACHING INTO  
THE UPPER 30-40 MPH RANGE. SATURDAY LOOKS MORE PROMISING WITH  
POE OF 55 MPH PLUS WINDS SITTING BETWEEN 50%-65%. WILL UPGRADE  
THE ADVISORY TO A HIGH WIND WARNING AS THE MOJAVE SLOPES FAVOR  
HIGH WIND CRITERIA. BY SUNDAY, A RETURN TO A RIDGE PATTERN WILL  
DECREASE WINDS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD.  
 
AS THE STORM EXITS LATER IN THE WEEKEND, TEMPERATURE BEGIN A  
REBOUND AND RISE TO THE MID 80S BY TUESDAY. THE POE OF MID 80S  
JUMPS UP TO A RANGE OF 40%-60% AT THAT TIME. AS A NOTE, POE OF  
90 DEGREES SITS AT 30%-40% BY NEXT WEDNESDAY. THURSDAY SHOWS  
SLIGHTLY HIGH PROBABILITIES AND IMPLIES CONTINUE WARMING INTO  
THE LATTER PART OF NEXT WEEK.  
 

 
   
AVIATION
 
12Z UPDATE:  
 
IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND WEST SIDE HILLS, LOCAL MVFR IN  
LOW CLOUDS THRU 18Z SAT. AREAS OF MVFR AND LOCAL IFR IN LOW  
CLOUDS, SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN 18Z SAT AND 12Z SUN.  
 
ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA, WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN OBSCURING IFR IN  
LOW CLOUDS, RAIN AND SNOW BETWEEN THROUGH 12Z SUN.  
 
ACROSS THE KERN COUNTY PORTION OF THE MOJAVE DESERT, VFR WILL  
PREVAIL THRU 12Z SUN WITH WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 50 KTS ALONG  
THE MOJAVE DESERT SLOPES.  
 

 
   
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 UNTIL 11 AM PDT SUNDAY FOR CAZ337-339.  
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 AM PDT SUNDAY FOR CAZ338.  
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM PDT SUNDAY FOR CAZ323-  
325>330.  
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM PDT SUNDAY FOR CAZ331-  
333>336.  
 

 
 

 
 
PUBLIC/AVIATION....MOLINA  
 
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD  
 
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.

The Nexlab CA Page Main Text Page