Re: Winter Storm Warning

Winter Storm Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1200 PM PST TUE DEC 23 2008

CAZ095>097-240400-
/O.UPG.KHNX.WS.A.0015.081225T0000Z-081226T0000Z/
/O.NEW.KHNX.WS.W.0013.081224T1800Z-081226T1200Z/
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
1200 PM PST TUE DEC 23 2008

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 4 AM
PST FRIDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI
MOUNTAINS...
...WINTER STORM WATCH NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA AND THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10
AM WEDNESDAY TO 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND
THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN
EFFECT.

TWO WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION WEDNESDAY AND
CHRISTMAS DAY. THE FIRST WILL MOVE SOUTH ALONG THE COAST WEDNESDAY
SPREADING RAIN AND SNOW INLAND. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE FROM 4000 TO
5000 FEET. A SECOND COLDER SYSTEM WILL QUICKLY FOLLOW WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AND CHRISTMAS DAY...WITH THE SNOW LEVEL LOWERING TO 2000 TO
2500 FEET BY THURSDAY NIGHT. TOTAL SNOWFALLS OF UP TO 3 FEET WILL
BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AT AND ABOVE 5000 FEET...WITH A
FOOT POSSIBLE AS LOW AS 4000 FEET.

FOR THE KERN COUNTY PASSES...THE SNOW LEVEL IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN
JUST ABOVE THE PASSES UNTIL EARLY CHRISTMAS MORNING BEFORE
LOWERING. TRAVEL ACROSS THE PASSES COULD BE HAMPERED IF NOT
IMPOSSIBLE FOR A WHILE LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR CHRISTMAS DAY.

SNOW WILL TAPER OFF THURSDAY NIGHT...BUT THE LOW SNOW LEVELS WILL
MEAN THAT ANY ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL IMPACT TRAVEL THROUGH
THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS. DRIVERS PLANNING TRAVEL BETWEEN THE SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY AND THE SOUTHLAND THURSDAY NIGHT...ON EITHER
INTERSTATE 5 OVER THE GRAPEVINE OR ON HIGHWAY 58 THROUGH TEHACHAPI
PASS...SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR DELAYS OR ROAD CLOSURES.
TEMPERATURES WILL BE VERY COLD EVEN AT THE PASS LEVEL...SO PLAN
FOR ADVERSE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS OR CONSIDER POSTPONING YOUR
TRAVEL UNTIL CONDITIONS IMPROVE.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL
MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE NEWS
SOURCE...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

$$

SANGER

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

000
FXUS66 KHNX 232305
AFDHNX

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
305 PM PST TUE DEC 23 2008

.DISCUSSION...THE FORECAST IS COMING INTO BETTER FOCUS AS THE DOUBLE-
BARREL STORM SYSTEM REMAINS ON TRACK TO REACH CALIFORNIA BEGINNING
LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING...AND CONTINUING THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.

THE 12Z MODELS FORECAST THE FIRST TROUGH TO DROP SOUTH ALONG
133W TO WEST OF CAPE MENDOCINO BY 00Z WEDNESDAY. THIS TROUGH THEN
MOVES TOWARD THE CALIFORNIA COAST OVERNIGHT AS AN UPPER-LEVEL EAST
PACIFIC RIDGE AMPLIFIES ROUGHLY ALONG 160W. A CLOSED LOW DEVELOPS IN
THE TROUGH AND MOVES TO OFF THE MONTEREY COAST BY 18Z WEDNESDAY. AT
THE SAME TIME...THE SECOND LOW RIDES DOWN THE LEADING EDGE OF THE
RIDGE FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA TO OVER THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS.

RFC GUIDANCE HAS PRECIPITATION MOVING INTO THE HANFORD WARNING/
FORECAST AREA BY 18Z WEDNESDAY. THERE WILL BE LITTLE...IF ANY...
BREAK BETWEEN SYSTEMS...SO THE PRECIPITATION WILL ESSENTIALLY BE ONE
EVENT STRETCHING FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. THE TOTAL
QPF FOR YOSEMITE FROM THIS EVENT IS 1.68 INCH...AND 1.64 INCH AS FAR
SOUTH AS ROGERS CAMP. SNOW LEVELS WILL START OUT AROUND 5000-6000
FEET WEDNESDAY...THEN BEGIN TO FALL WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN THE WAKE OF
THE FIRST COLD FRONT. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL SHARPLY DURING CHRISTMAS
DAY...AS 850-MB TEMPERATURES AT 00Z FRIDAY OVER THE GRAPEVINE FALL
TO NEAR -3 C...AND 700-MB TEMPERATURES DROP TO -12 C. BY 12Z
FRIDAY...AS BOTH 850-MB AND 700-MB TEMPERATURES FALL ANOTHER 3 C.
AS A RESULT...SNOW LEVELS THURSDAY NIGHT COULD RANGE FROM AROUND
2000 FEET IN MARIPOSA COUNTY TO 2500 FEET IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS.
TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE FORECAST TO BE UP TO 35 INCHES IN THE
SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA ABOVE 5000 FEET...TRENDING DOWN TO A MAXIMUM
OF AROUND 15 INCHES IN THE TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS. UP TO A FOOT OF SNOW
COULD FALL DOWN TO 4000 FEET...AND SEVERAL INCHES COULD FALL ON THE
GRAPEVINE AND TEHACHAPI PASS THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE
SIERRA FOOTHILLS AND THE KERN COUNTY DESERTS. SNOW ADVISORIES MAY
NEED TO BE ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND CHRISTMAS
DAY...BUT THAT IS TOO FAR INTO THE FUTURE FOR THIS FORECAST PACKAGE.
WILL UPDATE THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ON FOOTHILL SNOW TO
INCLUDE A SECTION ON DESERT SNOW AS WELL.

850-MB AND 700-MB TEMPERATURES OVER THE REGION ARE FORECAST TO PEAK
CHRISTMAS MORNING...AS THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR WILL BE IN
THE WARM SECTOR AHEAD OF THE SECOND /AND STRONGER/ FRONT.
TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO DROP AROUND 12 C IN 24 HOURS AS THE
VERY COLD AIRMASS MOVES INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA BEHIND THE FRONT.
THUS...HIGHS CHRISTMAS DAY COULD OCCUR BY MID-MORNING...THEN FALL
THROUGH THE DAY AND OVERNIGHT.

HAVE UPGRADED THE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE MOUNTAINS TO A WINTER
STORM WARNING FROM 18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY. WHILE NORMALLY
A WARNING EXTENDING INTO THE FIFTH FORECAST PERIOD WOULD NOT BE
ISSUED...THE IMPACT ON HOLIDAY TRAVEL IS HIGH ENOUGH TO WARRANT THIS.

THE SECOND STORM IS FORECAST TO MOVE EAST OF CALIFORNIA THURSDAY
NIGHT. THE UNSEASONABLY COLD AIRMASS WILL LINGER OVER THE CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH SATURDAY
MORNING LOWS IN THE COLDEST OUTLYING AREAS FALLING INTO THE UPPER
20S. THIS WILL RESULT IN AT LEAST PATCHY FROST IN THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTH VALLEY BY SUNRISE SATURDAY.

A WEAK UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE IS FORECAST TO BUILD OFF THE CALIFORNIA
COAST FRIDAY AND SPREAD INLAND SATURDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE TROUGH.
THE RIDGE FLATTENS SUNDAY AS A SHORT-WAVE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS WILL SET UP A ZONAL FLOW OVER THE EAST
PACIFIC THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
UNTIL 08Z WEDNESDAY...THEN MVFR CONDITIONS WITH LOCAL IFR IN RAIN
FROM 08Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY. OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS...VFR WITH LOCAL MVFR FROM 00Z
WEDNESDAY THROUGH 08Z WEDNESDAY THEN WIDESPREAD MVFR AND AREAS
OF IFR IN RAIN AND SNOW FROM 08Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY.
VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE KERN DESERTS THROUGH 00Z
THURSDAY.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
NONE.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 4 AM PST FRIDAY FOR
THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA AND TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS /CAZ095>097/.

&&

$$

PUBLIC...SANGER
AVN/FW...BEAN

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD

Hazardous Weather Outlook
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
1001 AM PST WED DEC 24 2008

CAZ095>097-251230-
KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
1001 AM PST WED DEC 24 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS
AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM PST TODAY UNTIL 4
PM PST THURSDAY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON. FOR MORE DETAILED
INFORMATION PLEASE SEE SFOWSWHNX OR WMO HEADER WWUS46 KHNX.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST
THURSDAY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON. FOR MORE DETAILED
INFORMATION PLEASE SEE SFOWSWHNX OR WMO HEADER WWUS46 KHNX.

.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.

$$

WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD