High Wind in California, March 23, 2021

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
241 PM PDT Tue Mar 23 2021

.SYNOPSIS...Strong Mono winds will impact portions of the Sierra
Nevada north of Kings River into Yosemite until Wednesday morning.
Gusty north winds will redevelop this afternoon, and will
continue into tomorrow morning for portions of the Kern County
desert and mountains. Another trough will swing through the region
on Thursday, bringing more strong winds to the district and a
slight chances of precipitation for the highest elevations of the
Sierra.

&&

.DISCUSSION...A fairly robust upslope flow into valley facing side
of the Kern County mountains and foothills allowed for areas of
drizzle and low visibilities for the majority of the day. Conditions
will continue to improve by the evening as drier air moves into
the area and the flow aloft turns offshore. Low clouds and
stratus are also sticking along the Tulare and Fresno county
foothills, and will continue dissipate later tonight.

Synoptically, the main upper level trough will continue to move
into northern AZ by Wednesday morning. The upper level winds will
turn offshore, to a northerly direction. The primary weather
concern this afternoon into tomorrow morning will be strong winds
for several areas of the central California interior. The first
area of concern will be strong Mono Winds the Sierra Nevada from
North Kings River into the Yosemite area. Since there have been no
major changes to the HREF ensemble guidance or to the short-term
high resolution model output the current wind forecast remains on
track for this area. A High Wind Warning will remain in effect for
this area until 5 AM PDT Wednesday.

The second area of concern is for the West Side Hills, and western
portions of the SJV. Wind gusts in this area have remained
between 30 to 40 mph for most of the morning and afternoon. Winds
will continue to decrease into the evening as the upper level
trough moves east. The last area of concern for strong winds will
be in Kern County. A new Wind Advisory will go into effect at 5
PM PDT today until 5 AM PDT Wednesday. High-res model guidance and
ensembles have continued to show strong northerly winds with
gusts up to 50 mph through Wednesday morning.

Once this trough kicks east, a shortwave ridge will move into the
area for Wednesday. This is followed by another trough moving
through the Great Basin on Thursday. Strong west to northwest
winds will once again increase in the usual wind prone areas in
Kern County. There is also a 30% chance of light precipitation in
the higher elevations of the Sierra from Fresno County northward,
but any precipitation amounts will be very light. Temperatures
will then increase toward the end of next week as a ridge sets up
over the area.

&&

.AVIATION...Expect areas of MVFR with local IFR and terrain
obscurations along the west and north facing slopes of the Sierra
through 03Z Wed. Also, expect areas of MVFR with local IFR and
terrain obscurations along the west and north facing slopes Kern
County mountains through 06Z Wed. Sustained north winds of 25 to
35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are likely in the Kern County
desert, Indian Wells Valley, and Lake Isabella area through 12Z
Wed. Sustained northeast winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 65
mph are likely in the Sierra Nevada mountains and foothills north
of Fresno county into the Yosemite area until 12Z Wed. Otherwise...VFR
conditions will prevail across Central California through the
next 24 hours.

&&

.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
an/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Advisory until 8 PM PDT this evening for CAZ179>182.

High Wind Warning until 5 AM PDT Wednesday for CAZ192-193.

Wind Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT Wednesday for
CAZ195-196-198-199.

&&

Synopsis/Public/Aviation...CMC
Fire Wx/IDSS/PIO...........Bean

weather.gov/hanford