Special Weather Statement, NWS Hanford, CA

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford CA
340 AM PDT Thu Aug 3 2017

.SYNOPSIS...A northwestard influx of monsoonal moisture will
continue through Friday and bring a chance of showers and
thunderstorms to central California, especially in the mountains
and desert. The threat of thunderstorms will diminish this
weekend as a drier westerly flow aloft becomes established.
Otherwise, temperatures will average above normal for the next
several days.

&&

.DISCUSSION...The monsoon is making its presence felt across the
central California interior this morning.  As of this writing,
doppler radar shows an area of thunderstorms approaching the
Kern county desert from the east. Outflow boundary winds well
ahead of these storms gusted to 55 mph in Ridgecrest and 57
mph at Laurel Mountain shortly after midnight. The door is wide
open for additional showers and thunderstorms to move into the
central California interior today. That door will likely stay
open through at least Friday as prevailing winds aloft remain
east to southeast. Although the bulk of convective activity will
be focused over the mountains and desert during this time,
isolated showers and/or sprinkles accompanied by thunder and
lightning cannot be ruled out anywhere in the San Joaquin Valley
and foothills during the next 36 to 48 hours.  Otherwise, this
southeasterly flow will also bring a good amount of mid level
cloudiness into the district through Friday. Not only are these
clouds trapping daytime heat and keeping min temps well above
normal, but they will play havoc with high temperature forecasts
across the district today and Friday. With enough sunshine,
thermometer readings will still climb above the century mark in the
San Joaquin Valley, lower foothills and Kern county desert the next
couple of afternoons. Additionally, higher humidity will bring
extra discomfort to the heat.

So, what's bringing this monsoonal moisture into the central
California interior? It's a low pressure system centered a few
hundred miles west of the San Francisco Bay area. The models
forecast this feature to remain nearly idle through Friday evening
then eventually lift it northward to just off the northern
California coast Saturday. Winds aloft will gradually veer to
a more westerly direction which in turn will sweep monsoonal
moisture east of our CWA. Whether that begins to happen Friday
night or waits until later in the weekend is still in question.
We're being cautiously optimistic for now and drying the
atmosphere out across much of the CWA this weekend but continuing
the thunderstorm threat over the higher elevations of the Sierra.

Very little change in the overall synoptic pattern is foreseen
thereafter. A light westerly flow aloft will reside over central
California for much of next week between an upper level trough off
the Pacific Northwest coast and a high pressure ridge positioned
over northern Mexico. During this period, temperatures will continue
to average above normal throughout the CWA and isolated afternoon
and early evening thunderstorms are still possible near the Sierra
crest. It also means triple digit heat will likely continue in the
San Joaquin Valley, lower foothills and the Kern county desert, but
at least the humidity will be somewhat lower and more tolerable
Monday through next Thursday.

&&

.AVIATION...
In the Sierra Nevada and Kern County Mountains, a chance of mainly
afternoon thunderstorms.

In the San Joaquin Valley, a slight chance of showers and
thunderstorms.

Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail across the Central CA
Interior during the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
On Thursday August 3 2017... Unhealthy for sensitive groups in
Fresno... Kern... Madera and Merced Counties.
Further information is available at Valleyair.org

&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium.
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.php for additional information
an/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NONE.
&&

public...Durfee
avn/fw...Dudley
synopsis...Durfee

weather.gov/hanford

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1026 AM PDT THU AUG 3 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0402 PM     HAIL             7 N YOSEMITE VALLEY     37.84N 119.61W
08/02/2017  E0.75 INCH       MARIPOSA           CA   PARK/FOREST SRVC

            REPORT OF HAIL COVERING TIOGA ROAD HWY 120
            IN YOSEMITE PARK. ROAD REMAINED OPEN. TIME
            ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

&&

KM

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
1035 AM PDT THU AUG 3 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0402 PM     HAIL             7 N YOSEMITE VALLEY     37.84N 119.61W
08/02/2017  E0.75 INCH       MARIPOSA           CA   PARK/FOREST SRVC

            REPORT OF HAIL COVERING TIOGA ROAD/HWY 120
            IN YOSEMITE PARK. ROAD REMAINED OPEN. TIME
            ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

&&

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley CA
1249 PM PDT THU AUG 3 2017

CAZ095-099-032045-
Kern County Mountains CA-Southeastern Kern County Desert CA-
1249 PM PDT THU AUG 3 2017

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY UNTIL
145 PM PDT...

At 1248 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Tehachapi, or 28 miles north of Lancaster. This storm was nearly
stationary.

Half inch hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
this storm.

Locations impacted include...
Tehachapi, Mojave and Jawbone Canyon.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.

&&

LAT...LON 3498 11838 3510 11850 3531 11823 3515 11805
TIME...MOT...LOC 1948Z 229DEG 4KT 3508 11836

DS