If one word could sum up this week’s weather forecast, it would be “ditto.”
Yep, the forecast is calling for more rain and gusty winds in the Valley, more snow in the foothills and blizzards in the high Sierra. And that’s just through Wednesday, when the latest in a series of storms that have brought snow to low elevations in Southern California and closed highways across mountain passes will move out.
But Wednesday night you might want to cover or move sensitive plants indoors, and also make sure Fido and Fluffy are inside for the night. Clearing conditions will bring sub-freezing temperatures to the Fresno area Thursday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Bagnall told GV Wire on Monday.
The forecast overnight low Thursday for the Fresno area is 30 degrees, about 15 degrees colder than the 45 degrees that’s normal for this time of year, Bagnall said.
More Storms Next Week
Don’t worry about the cold hanging on, though — another round of winter storms will be headed this way early next week, he said.
The National Weather Service’s forecast map is a riot of colors these days showing areas of snow, rain, wind, blizzard, gale, and even avalanche warnings.
It’s “a little bit of everything, quite a mix,” Bagnall said. Although snow, rain, and wind are fairly common in Central California winters, blizzards are somewhat unusual in this part of the country, he said.
Unlike the moisture-laden atmospheric rivers fueled by warmer parts of the Pacific Ocean that brought hefty rains and flooding throughout California, the current storms are coming out of the Gulf of Alaska and Pacific Northwest, lowering snow levels in the Sierra and adding to the snowpack that California depends on for much of its water supply for homes, businesses, and farms, Bagnall said.
Through Sunday, Fresno’s rainfall totaled 12.88 inches, more than 5 inches above the normal rainfall for this time of year and more than an inch above the annual rainfall average of 11.5 inches, he said.
