758
FXUS66 KHNX 021731
AFDHNX
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1031 AM PDT SAT MAY 2 2026
KEY MESSAGES
1. SLIGHT CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS UNTIL EARLY NEXT WEEK OVER
THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.
2. COOLER, UNSETTLED WEATHER SUNDAY UNTIL TUESDAY WITH SNOW
ABOVE 7,000 FEET IN THE SIERRA NEVADA. SLIGHT CHANCES OF
THUNDERSTORMS ALSO FOR THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS.
3. GUSTY WINDS IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERT SUNDAY UNTIL MONDAY
NIGHT/TUESDAY MORNING.
4. WARMING TREND ON WEDNESDAY INTO NEXT WEEKEND.
DISCUSSION
TODAY WILL BE ANOTHER WARM DAY, SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY, ACROSS
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA WITH DAYTIME HIGHS AROUND TEN DEGREES ABOVE
AVERAGE. PROBABILITIES FOR HIGHS AT LEAST 90 DEGREES ARE 50-60
PERCENT FOR THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND KERN COUNTY DESERT
(EXCEPT 90-95 PERCENT TOWARDS BAKERSFIELD).
SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES AND UNSETTLED WEATHER ARE IN
STORE FOR SUNDAY UNTIL TUESDAY AS AN OFFSHORE UPPER-LEVEL LOW
WITH AN ASSOCIATED TROUGH OVER CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. THE LOW WILL
MOVE ONSHORE BY MONDAY MORNING AND GRADUALLY MOVE EASTWARD OVER
OUR AREA THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION, WINDS PICK UP BY
SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND LAST UNTIL MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY MORNING;
THIS HAS PROMPTED ISSUANCE OF WIND ADVISORIES, INCLUDING FOR THE
KERN RIVER VALLEY (LAKE WIND ADVISORY), KERN COUNTY DESERT
FLOOR, AND THE MOJAVE DESERT SLOPES. PROBABILITIES FOR 40 MPH
GUSTS ARE NEAR 100 PERCENT FOR MUCH OF THE DESERT. GUSTY WINDS
WILL ALSO DEVELOP OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA CREST, AS THE
PROBABILITY FOR 40 MPH GUSTS ARE 70-80 PERCENT BY SUNDAY AND
LOWERS TO 50-60 PERCENT MONDAY AND TUESDAY. A DAILY SLIGHT
CHANCE FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL LAST UNTIL
TUESDAY OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA CREST, BUT WILL SPREAD INTO THE
FOOTHILLS SUNDAY UNTIL TUESDAY. OTHERWISE, A TOTAL OF A FEW
INCHES OF SNOW WILL FALL ABOVE 7,000 FEET IN THE SIERRA, WITH
THE BULK ON MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. THERE IS ALSO A LOW
PROBABILITY (ROUGHLY 10 PERCENT) THAT LOCATIONS IN THE SIERRA
NEVADA ABOVE 6,000 FEET WILL RECEIVE AS HIGH AS 3-4 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION DURING SUNDAY-TUESDAY, WITH THE BULK ALSO ON
MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. OTHERWISE, THE MOST LIKELY STORM TOTAL
AMOUNTS ARE CLOSER TO ONE TO TWO INCHES IN THESE PARTICULAR
AREAS. A SLIGHT (15-20) CHANCE FOR LIGHT SHOWERS EXISTS FOR 24
HOUR AMOUNTS OF 0.10 INCH OR GREATER IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
AND A MODERATE PROBABILITY (35-45 PERCENT) FOR AMOUNTS OF 0.25
INCH OR GREATER FOR EACH 24 HOUR PERIOD DURING SUNDAY-TUESDAY
FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA FOOTHILLS. HOWEVER, LOCATIONS IN THE
SIERRA FOOTHILLS HAVE A WORST CASE SCENARIO (10 PERCENT CHANCE)
FOR AMOUNTS OF 0.50 TO 0.75 INCH IN EACH 24 HOUR PERIOD.
WARMER TEMPERATURES RETURN BY LATER NEXT WEEK AS A RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE REBUILDS OVER THE REGION. PROBABILITIES FOR MORE 90
DEGREE READINGS ARE CURRENTLY 60-70 PERCENT FROM THURSDAY UNTIL
NEXT SATURDAY. AVERAGE HIGHS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR ARE IN THE
LOWER 80'S. LATEST CPC OUTLOOKS SUGGEST A SLIGHT TILT TOWARDS
ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION WITH A HIGH PROBABILITY OF ABOVE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR BOTH THE 6-10 DAY AND 8-14 DAY PERIODS.
AVIATION
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS OVER CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA.
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 11 AM SUNDAY TO 8 AM PDT TUESDAY FOR CAZ338.
LAKE WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM SUNDAY TO 11 PM PDT MONDAY FOR
CAZ332.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM SUNDAY TO 11 PM PDT MONDAY FOR CAZ337-
339.
BSO/AC
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
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