284
FXUS66 KHNX 210517
AFDHNX
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
917 PM PST TUE JAN 20 2026
KEY MESSAGES
1. DENSE FOG IN THE VALLEY IS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS.
2. CHANCE OF SNOW ABOVE 7,000 FEET IN THE SIERRA NEVADA THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY. OTHERWISE, DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR THE WEEK.
DISCUSSION
FOG IS GENERALLY A LITTLE SLOWER TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING AS LOW
STRATUS REMAINED THIS AFTERNOON AFTER THE FOG HAD LIFTED.
HOWEVER, WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG IS PROJECTED TO RETURN LATER
TONIGHT AND LAST UNTIL AT LEAST LATE MORNING ON WEDNESDAY. THERE
IS A POSSIBILITY THAT SOME LOCATIONS MAY NOT GET QUITE AS FOGGY
AS DURING THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS, AS SOME MID AND HIGH CLOUDS
ALSO PASSED OVER THE FOG/STRATUS TODAY. THESE HIGHER CLOUDS MAY
HAVE AIDED IN KEEPING THE STRATUS INTACT OVER MOST OF THE VALLEY
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENTLY, THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF
DENSE FOG, PER THE ASOS AT NAS LEMOORE AND WEBCAMS TOWARDS
BUTTONWILLOW. OUTSIDE OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY, WARMER TEMPERATURES
WILL PREVAIL OVER THE LOW CLOUD DECK. MORE FOG DEVELOPS IN THE
CENTRAL VALLEY AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT, BUT CHANCES OF WIDESPREAD
DENSE FOG DECREASE A BIT. THUS, WILL OPT TO KEEP THE DENSE FOG
ADVISORY THROUGH NOON PST WEDNESDAY AT THIS TIME.
A WEAK UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR HIGH
ELEVATION SNOW IN THE SIERRA NEVADA ON THURSDAY, MAINLY ABOVE
7,000 FEET WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN INTO THE FOOTHILLS,
AND AS FAR SOUTH AS KERN COUNTY. THIS SYSTEM MAY TEMPORARILY
HALT FOG FORMATION, BUT THIS WILL LIKELY BE SHORT-LIVED, AS
VALLEY FOG IS PROJECTED TO REDEVELOP BY THURSDAY NIGHT ALONG
WITH THE RETURN OF UPPER-LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING THAT WILL
CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.
LATEST CPC OUTLOOKS SHOW A 60-70 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WITH A 40-50 PERCENT CHANCE OF BELOW
AVERAGE PRECIPITATION AT THE 6-10 DAY RANGE. THE 8-14 DAY RANGE
SHOWS A 70-80 PERCENT CHANCE OF CONTINUED ABOVE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES, BUT WITH NEAR AVERAGE PRECIPITATION.
AVIATION
VISIBILITIES ACROSS THE TAF SITES AS OF THIS UPDATE ARE MAINLY
3-5 MILES; HOWEVER, CIGS CONTINUE TO BE DOWN TO IFR AND LIFR
THRESHOLDS. WIDESPREAD IFR TO LIFR CONDITIONS BEGIN TO PREVAIL
AFTER 08Z WEDNESDAY UNTIL AT LEAST 18Z. WINDS REMAIN LIGHT AND
VARIABLE THROUGH THE TAF CYCLE. VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL FOR THE
SIERRA NEVADA, COASTAL RANGE, AND IN THE MOJAVE DESERT FOR THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.
AIR QUALITY ISSUES
ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21 2026, FIREPLACE/WOOD STOVE BURNING STATUS
IS: NO BURNING UNLESS REGISTERED IN FRESNO, KERN, AND MADERA
COUNTIES. BURNING DISCOURAGED IN KINGS, MERCED, AND TULARE COUNTIES,
AND KERN (GREATER FRAZIER PARK AREA) AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK AND
FOREST.
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
DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL NOON PST WEDNESDAY FOR CAZ301>307-
309>312-314>317-319-321.
BSO
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
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