Area forecast discussion National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford California 220 PM PDT Monday may 20 2013 Synopsis... high pressure building over central California will bring above normal temperatures and mainly clear skies. An area of low pressure will strengthen onshore flow...bringing cooler temperatures and a few clouds to central California Wednesday and Thursday. && Discussion... satellite loops show clear skies across the central California interior this afternoon as an offshore upper-level ridge remains in control of the region/S weather. At 20z /1300 PDT/ this afternoon... temperatures across the central and southern San Joaquin Valley were mostly in the middle 80s...and were running as much as 9 degrees ahead of 20z Sunday. Temperatures in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley were on track to peak in the lower to middle 90s. Satellite loops show an upper-level low near 47n/130w...west of Vancouver Island...with a trough digging south to 33 north. This low is forecast to drop south overnight...and will be west of the Washington coast by 18z /1100 PDT/ Tuesday with the trough pivoting into northern California. The low is then forecast to move onshore near the Washington/Oregon border between 06-12z Wednesday /2300 PDT Tuesday-0500 PDT Wednesday/ with the trough digging into central California. As the trough digs south...it will deepen the marine layer and marine air could spill through the passes and canyons of the temblors and Diablo Range...resulting in breezy conditions along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley with areas of blowing dust possible. The models are in agreement with strong cooling at 850 mb Wednesday. 850-mb temperatures over Fresno are forecast to drop from 18 c this afternoon to 8-9 c by 18z /1100 PDT/ Wednesday. Highs Wednesday are not expected to warm above the middle to upper 70s in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley...and Thursday likely will be a couple of degrees cooler. As the trough axis moves through the Hanford warning/forecast area Wednesday afternoon/evening...the northwest flow aloft will align with some of the passes and canyons of the Kern County mountains. The winds aloft will funnel through these passes and canyons...with gusts of 35-45 miles per hour in the Kern deserts below these favored sites. Areas of blowing dust and sand will be likely...especially along Highway 58 from the Tehachapi Pass through Mojave and on Highway 14 from Mojave to Red Rock Canyon. Although the trough axis is forecast to be east of the region Friday...the European model (ecmwf) forecasts a short-wave to rotate around the low is forecast and swing onto the California coast Friday night. Both the European model (ecmwf) and GFS forecast a stronger trough to reach the California coast Saturday afternoon/evening...keeping temperatures a few degrees below normal through the Memorial Day Holiday weekend. The GFS brings some quantitative precipitation forecast to the southern Sierra Nevada for Memorial Day with both the European model (ecmwf) and GFS having a few hundredths quantitative precipitation forecast over the southern Sierra Nevada Tuesday. Have penciled in ghost probability of precipitation for the southern Sierra Nevada toward the end of the extended forecast period. /Tuesday would be day 8...beyond the current forecast period./ && Aviation... VFR conditions will prevail across the central California interior. && 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. This information is provided as part of a trial project conducted by the National Weather Service San Joaquin Valley - Hanford. Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit www.Weather.Gov/hnx/certainty.Php /all lower case/ for additional information and/or to provide feedback. && Climate... records site date hi_max:year lo_max:year hi_min:year lo_min:year Kfat 05-20 102:1947 61:1921 71:1897 44:1962 kfat 05-21 104:1892 56:1933 69:2001 42:1975 kfat 05-22 104:1967 67:2010 71:1892 43:1909 Kbfl 05-20 103:1942 65:1923 70:2001 42:1902 kbfl 05-21 103:1988 65:1903 71:2001 42:1902 kbfl 05-22 102:2001 68:2010 73:1967 36:1903 && Hnx watches/warnings/advisories... none. && $$ Public...Sanger AVN/fw...bean synopsis...pj Weather.Gov/Hanford