SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
955 PM PST TUE DEC 9 2008

...TURNING MUCH COOLER AND UNSETTLED OVER THE UPCOMING WEEKEND...

RELATIVELY MILD WEATHER FOR THE REST OF THE WORK WEEK WILL BE REPLACED BY MUCH
COOLER AND UNSETTLED WEATHER OVER THE WEEKEND. A SERIES OF LOW PRESSURE AREAS ARE
FORECAST TO DROP SOUTH ALONG THE WEST COAST...WITH THE FIRST ONE REACHING NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA SATURDAY. THIS WILL USHER IN THE COOLING TREND...BUT NOT A GREAT DEAL OF
PRECIPITATION. A SECOND COLDER AND POTENTIALLY WETTER SYSTEM DROPS DOWN THE COAST
SUNDAY...WITH YET ANOTHER MONDAY.

SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL SHARPLY SATURDAY...REACHING WELL INTO THE FOOTHILLS SATURDAY
NIGHT AND SUNDAY. SNOW LEVELS BY SUNDAY COULD
BE AS LOW AS 1500 FEET...AND POSSIBLY AFFECT TRAVEL INTO FOOTHILL AREAS AS WELL AS ANY
MOUNTAIN PASSES.

WHILE IT IS STILL TO EARLY TO SAY FOR CERTAIN THIS WILL OCCUR...EVERYONE SHOULD PAY CLOSE
ATTENTION TO LATER FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS WINTER
WEATHER. IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GREATLY AFFECT TRAVEL...NOT ONLY PASSES SUCH AS
I-5 OVER THE GRAPEVINE...BUT COASTAL PASSES AS WELL.

Hopefully this series will end up dumping a fair amount of snow. I returned to Tahoe Wednesday via Hwt 4 and there was very little snow on the ground...even at the pass.

Here's an excerpt from the Tahoe newspaper about the upcoming weather systems.
***************

An intense cold front will move rapidly through the region Friday night and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, which has issued a high wind watch. Strong downslope winds are possible along the Eastern Sierra from Reno and Lake Tahoe southward into Mono and Mineral counties.

Meanwhile, the weather service reports the Sierra could fetch between 1 to 2 feet of snow between Saturday and Wednesday.

"We will see decent snowfall accumulations but what you're not going to see is a classic Sierra storm where you get hammered for a day and then it clears out," said Scott McGuire, meteorologist for the weather service. "This storm is not that type of scenario. It wil be a prolonged event through Wednesday."

Southwest winds of 25 to 45 mph with gusts of 60 to 70 mph are possible Friday night into the pre-dawn hours Saturday morning, according to the weather service.

THE BIG STORM OF THE SEASON WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE AREA ON SAT. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL DROP DOWN FROM ALASKA INTO NRN OREGON BY SAT...AND DIP THE PREVAILING JET STREAM TO OVER CENTRAL CA. THE RESULTING 519DM LOW AND 130+ KT JET WILL DRAMATICALLY COOL CA...WHILE PULSING IN A NUMBER OF FRONTS THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1157 AM PST SAT DEC 13 2008

.A SERIES OF LOW PRESSURE AREAS WILL MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE FIRST WAS MOVING
THROUGH TODAY. THE NEXT AND STRONGER SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH LATE
SUNDAY AND MONDAY. A WEAKER SYSTEM WILL SLIDE SOUTH ACROSS THE
REGION TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL KEEP COLD AND UNSETTLED
WEATHER ACROSS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR THROUGH MID-WEEK AT
LEAST.


CAZ096-097-140000-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
1157 AM PST SAT DEC 13 2008

SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL OCCUR FROM TIME TO TIME OVER THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA THROUGH SUNDAY. SNOW WILL INCREASE ACROSS
THE SIERRA SUNDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE MONDAY. A FOOT OR MORE OF NEW
SNOW IS LIKELY BY MONDAY EVENING. MORE SHOWERY TYPE SNOWFALL IS
THEN EXPECTED THROUGH MID-WEEK...AND THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL
ACCUMULATIONS. STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE RIDGES WILL ALSO BRING
AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

$$

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1233 PM PST SAT DEC 13 2008

...WINTRY TRAVEL LIKELY OVER THE GRAPEVINE THIS EVENING THROUGH
MONDAY...

CAZ096-097-140500-
/O.NEW.KHNX.WS.A.0011.081215T0000Z-081216T0000Z/
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
1233 PM PST SAT DEC 13 2008

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI
MOUNTAINS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY
AFTERNOON FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI
MOUNTAINS.

A STRONG AND VERY COLD PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE
INTO THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR LATE ON SUNDAY AND CONTINUE
THROUGH MONDAY. THE THREAT OF HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL BEGIN SUNDAY
EVENING AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY. THE STORM WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST
ACROSS THE REGION BY LATE MONDAY AS CONTINUED OROGRAPHIC AND
UPSLOPE PRECIPITATION CONTINUES THROUGH MONDAY.

WIDESPREAD SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO FEET ARE POSSIBLE OVER
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK TAPERING DOWN TO 8 TO 12 INCHES OVER THE
TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. GUSTY WINDS CAN CREATE AREAS OF DRIFTING AND
BLOWING SNOW.

WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT
SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

$$

JDB

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

We just had a snow shower at Tahoe. Lasted about 30 minutes and then the sun came out. The high today so far has been 24 degrees.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
544 AM PST MON DEC 15 2008
...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR THE SIERRA

NEVADA AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS FROM YOSEMITE
TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE AND FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA AND ADJACENT
FOOTHILLS FROM YOSEMITE TO THE KERN COUNTY LINE AND
FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING.
PERIODS OF SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. SNOW LEVELS
WILL FALL TO AS LOW AS 1500 FEET THROUGH THIS
AFTERNOON IN THE FOOTHILLS AND AS LOW AS 1000 FEET BY TUESDAY MORNING AS COLDER AIR
CONTINUES TO INVADE THE REGION. SEVERAL
INCHES OF WET HEAVY SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE AS LOW AS 1500 FEET. AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 2500
FEET TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THROUGH THIS
EVENING COULD RANGE FROM 10 TO AS MUCH AS 20 INCHES. ADDITIONALLY...THE AIRMASS WILL BE
VERY UNSTABLE IN THE SIERRA FOOTHILLS THIS
AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.
IN THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS...AT THE 4000-4500 FOOT PASS LEVELS TOTAL SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 12 INCHES ARE LIKELY BY THIS
EVENING...WHILE AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET THE SNOW MAY ACCUMULATE UP TO AROUND 30-
35 INCHES.

OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA VERY HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 3-5 FEET ARE POSSIBLE ABOVE
6000 FEET WITH 1-2 FOOT ACCUMULATIONS IN THE
4000-6000 ELEVATION RANGE.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR
OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR
IMPOSSIBLE.

THIS STORM WILL HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON TRAVEL INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AS BOTH
INTERSTATE 5 OVER THE GRAPEVINE AND HIGHWAY
58 OVER TEHACHAPI PASS WILL BECOME SNOW PACKED AND ICY.

CHECK THE CAL TRANS WEB SITE OR CALL 1-800-427-7623 FOR THE LATEST ROAD INFORMATION.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
400 AM PST TUE DEC 16 2008


...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE FOOTHILLS...


...WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI
MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE FOOTHILLS...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR
LOCALLY HEAVY SNOWFALLS FOR THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE FOOTHILLS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON. THE
WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
SHOWERS HAVE DIMINISHED OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI
MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE FOOTHILLS. THIS HAS ENDED THE THREAT OF WIDESPREAD HEAVY
SNOWFALLS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.
A COLD...UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL LINGER OVER THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...WITH SNOW
LEVELS REMAINING BETWEEN 1500 AND 2000 FEET.
SNOW SHOWERS WILL REDEVELOP LATER THIS MORNING...AND CONTINUE INTO THIS AFTERNOON.

ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THIS EVENING.
PEOPLE LIVING IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE
FOOTHILLS...SHOULD BE ALERT FOR CONTINUED
WINTER WEATHER TODAY. DRIVERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR DELAYS OR ROAD CLOSURES AND
CONSIDER POSTPONING TRIPS UNTIL CONDITIONS IMPROVE.
CHECK THE CAL TRANS WEB SITE OR CALL 1-800-427-7623 FOR THE LATEST ROAD INFORMATION.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR FREEZING RAIN WILL
CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.