891
FXUS66 KHNX 171739
AFDHNX
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1039 AM PDT SAT OCT 17 2026
KEY MESSAGES
1. WARM CONDITIONS THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH TEMPERATURES 5-10
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.
2. MODERATE FIRE RISK WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY BELOW 20% IN THE
FOOTHILLS, SIERRA NEVADA AND DESERTS.
3. HIGH CONFIDENCE IN A PATTERN CHANGE EARLY NEXT WEEK.
4. TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW AVERAGE NEXT WEEK WITH MODERATE
CONFIDENCE OF RAIN AND HIGH SIERRA SNOW EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING
THROUGH THURSDAY.
PREV DISCUSSION
/ISSUED 433 AM PDT SAT OCT 17 2026/
ANOTHER WARM DAY IS IN STORE FOR THE LOWER ELEVATIONS ON
SATURDAY AS WE REMAIN UNDER A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE, INCLUDING
HIGHS NEAR 90 DEGREES IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. TODAY'S HIGHS
REACHED 90 DEGREES IN SOME VALLEY LOCATIONS. CHANCES FOR
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES OF 90 DEGREES OR WARMER ON SATURDAY ARE AT
55 TO 65 PERCENT FOR THE CENTRAL VALLEY. WINDS HAVE GENERALLY
DECREASED IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERT, WHILE HUMIDITY HAS BEEN
IMPROVING IN THE MOUNTAIN AREAS THIS EVENING.
WINDS WILL FURTHER DECREASE ON SATURDAY AS PRESSURE GRADIENTS
RELAX AS THE UPPER- LEVEL LOW MOVES INLAND TOWARDS THE COLORADO
RIVER VALLEY.
FOR SUNDAY, ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES CONTINUE, BUT WITH A
MINOR DECREASE. CURRENT PROBABILITIES FOR HIGHS AT OR ABOVE 90
DEGREES IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY WILL BE CONSIDERABLY LOWER
THAN ON SATURDAY, OR AT 15 TO 25 PERCENT. THE RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE WEAKENS AND GIVES WAY TO AN UPPER-LEVEL SHORTWAVE
TROUGH. THIS FEATURE WILL EVENTUALLY BRING MORE NOTICEABLE
COOLING BY MONDAY. EVEN MORE COOLING AND CHANCES OF
PRECIPITATION ENTER THE FORECAST FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. FOR
THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY WE ARE LOOKING AT A 20 TO 30 PERCENT
CHANCE OF RAIN WITH EVEN BETTER CHANCES INTO WEDNESDAY. THERE IS
MODERATE CONFIDENCE THAT WE WILL SEE A MUCH COOLER PATTERN, AS
HIGHS STRUGGLE TO EXCEED THE LOWER 70S IN THE VALLEY FOR THE
LATTER PART OF NEXT WEEK. AS OF THIS WRITING, CHANCES OF A 70
DEGREE READING OR LOWER ARE AT 50 TO 60 PERCENT FOR WEDNESDAY
UNTIL NEXT FRIDAY. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS OF 0.10 INCH ENDING
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ARE AT 35 TO 45 PERCENT FOR THE SAN JOAQUIN
VALLEY AND OF 0.50 INCH OR GREATER FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA ARE AT
A SIMILAR PERCENTAGE. AS FOR THE FROZEN PRECIPITATION, SNOW
LEVELS ARE AT 8,000 FEET ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WITH AMOUNTS
OF SEVERAL INCHES, WHICH CAN COMPLICATE TRAVEL ALONG TIOGA
PASS/ROAD IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.
AVIATION
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. WINDS WILL
VEER TO THE EAST AT ALL TERMINALS OVERNIGHT WHILE REMAINING
LIGHT.
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
NONE.
PUBLIC...MATTAROCHIA
AVIATION....MATTAROCHIA
WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD
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