High Wind in California, March 26, 2010

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
851 PM PDT THU MAR 25 2010

.SYNOPSIS...

SEASONABLY COOL WEATHER WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR THROUGH FRIDAY IN THE WAKE OF A COLD FRONT. STRONG AND
GUSTY WINDS WILL OCCUR THROUGH AND BELOW THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF
KERN COUNTY TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THE WEEKEND WILL BE DRY
AND MUCH WARMER AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION.

&&

.UPDATE...
CONVECTIVE SHOWERS OCCURRED TOWARDS THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS SHORT WAVE IMPULSE MOVES THROUGH NORTH
CALIFORNIA. RADAR INDICATED A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS REACHED THE NORTH
PORTIONS OF THE AREA MAINLY IN NORTH MERCED COUNTY TOWARDS GUSTINE
AND THE FOOTHILLS NORTH OF FRESNO. HOWEVER RAIN GAGES HAVE NOT
INDICATED ANY RAIN AT THE SURFACE. MAIN CONCERN MAY BE STRONG
WINDS AS TROUGH HAS LITTLE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH. PRESSURE
GRADIENT SFO-LAS HAS STRENGHTEN TO OVER 16MB AND WINDS GUSTING
OVER 45 MPH BELOW SOME OF THE PASSES IN THE KERN COUNTY DESERT.
THINK WINDS WILL INCREASE LATE THIS EVENING AS WATER VAPOR IMAGES
SHOW AN AREA OF SUBSIDENCE AND UPPER JET PUSHING ONSHORE OVER THE
BAY AREA AND CENTRAL COAST. THIS SHOULD STRENGHTEN THE WINDS
FURTHER ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY AND ESPECIALLY THROUGH
AND BELOW THE MOUNTAIN PASSES OF KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. DO NOT
PLAN ON ANY UPDATES TO FORECAST.

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING A GOOD 6 TO 10
DEGREES COOLER THIS AFTERNOON THAN YESTERDAY. IN THE CLOUDY AREAS
OF THE SOUTH VALLEY AND THE SURROUNDING HIGHER ELEVATIONS...THIS
AFTERNOON IS AT LEAST 20 DEGREES COOLER THAN WEDNESDAY. THE COLD
FRONT THAT CHASED THE MILD AIRMASS OUT OF THE CENTRAL CA INTERIOR
IS NOW CENTERED OVER THE ROCKIES. IN ITS WAKE...A 100+ KT JET IS
PUNCHING INTO NORTHERN CA AND IT WILL SETTLE RIGHT OVER CENTRAL CA
THIS EVENING AS A SHORT WAVE TROUGH TRACKS INTO THE GREAT BASIN.
ALTHOUGH MOISTURE IS LIMITED WITH THIS SHORT WAVE FEATURE...THE
COMBINATION OF JET DYNAMICS AND COLD ADVECTION WILL GENERATE
ISOLATED SHOWERS OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA TONIGHT
AND OVER THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS FRIDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE...A
BRISK NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL KEEP CLOUDS BANKED UP ALONG THE
NORTH FACING SLOPES OF THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...THE SOUTH END OF
THE SJ VLY...AND THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE SIERRA NEVADA INTO THE
MIDDAY HOURS FRIDAY. ADDITIONALLY...AS THE CORE OF THE UPPER LEVEL
JET MOVES OVER KERN COUNTY THIS EVENING...IT WILL SUPPORT STRONG
WINDS THROUGH AND BELOW THE MOUNTAIN PASSES. BLUSTERY WINDS WILL
CONTINUE IN THESE AREAS UNTIL THE JET EXITS EAST OF KERN COUNTY
FRIDAY MORNING. (FOR DETAILS...PLEASE SEE THE SFONPWHNX...WWUS76)

FRIDAY AFTERNOON WILL ALSO BE SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL AND
NORTHWESTERLY BREEZES WILL AGAIN BE LOCALLY GUSTY ON THE WEST SIDE
OF THE SJ VLY AND IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERT.

A DRAMATIC WARM UP IS EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND AS AN UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER CENTRAL CA. BY SUNDAY...TEMPS
WILL LIKELY PEAK AROUND 80 DEGREES IN THE WARMEST SPOTS OF THE SJ
VLY. MONDAY WILL BE EQUALLY WARM...ESP IN THE SOUTH VALLEY AND IN
THE KERN CO DESERT...ALTHOUGH BY THEN THE RIDGE WILL BEGIN TO
FLATTEN AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH.

THE NEXT COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE CWA MONDAY NIGHT
AND BE FOLLOWED BY BREEZY AND SEASONABLY COOLER WEATHER TUESDAY.
WHILE THE FRONT WILL HAVE LITTLE MOISTURE OR DYNAMICS THIS FAR
SOUTH...IT MIGHT BRING SOME SHOWERS FROM FRESNO COUNTY NORTH TUE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

THE EXTENDED MODELS ARE STILL ON BOARD FOR A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE
PATTERN DURING THE MIDDLE TO LATTER PART OF NEXT WEEK...ONE THAT
WILL BRING A RETURN OF WET WEATHER AND COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPS
TO THE CWA WEDNESDAY THROUGH NEXT THURSDAY. SINCE THERE HAS BEEN
GOOD RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY WITH THE EURO AND GFS SOLNS FOR THESE
PERIODS...POPS WERE RAISED ACCORDINGLY FOR DAYS 6 THROUGH 7.

&&

.AVIATION...
AREAS OF MVFR IN SHOWERS WITH LOCAL MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION IN THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA UNTIL 12Z FRIDAY. IN ADDITION...MVFR/IFR
VISIBILITIES AND CEILINGS IN UPSLOPE CLOUDS ALONG THE VALLEY FACING
SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS
THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY.

IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS...LOCAL GUSTS TO AROUND 60
KTS POSSIBLE AT TIMES THROUGH 16Z FRIDAY.

OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
INTERIOR THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 9 AM PDT FRIDAY CAZ095-098-099.

&&

PUBLIC...MV
AVN/FW...SANGER
SYNOPSIS...TLM

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
339 AM PDT FRI MAR 26 2010

CAZ095-098-099-261600-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
339 AM PDT FRI MAR 26 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM PDT FRIDAY. PLEASE
REFER TO THE LATEST NON PRECIPITATION WARNING ISSUED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HANFORD AT /WWUS76 KHNX/ OR
/SFONPWHNX/ FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT OR
UNUSUAL CONDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

BSO

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD