366 FXUS66 KHNX 172246 AAA AFDHNX Area Forecast Discussion...Updated National Weather Service Hanford CA 345 PM PDT Sun Oct 17 2021 Updated Air Quality Issues section .SYNOPSIS... Dry and seasonably mild conditions will continue today before a cold front moves through the area this evening into Monday, bringing light rain and mountain snow to much of the area. Locally strong gusty winds are likely through and below the west side mountain passes this afternoon and evening, and through Kern County mountain passes tonight into Monday morning. A brief period of elevated fire weather conditions will occur through this afternoon for the Kern County mountains. Temperatures will drop well below average Monday, then warming to near normal by Thursday. && .DISCUSSION... Today will be the warmest day this week, as another strong cold front will sweep across the region overnight. This one has some moisture with it, so we are forecasting some snow in the high country of Yosemite above 6000 feet. We are possibly going to see some light rain in the SJV. The timing of the frontal band is between midnight and 5 am tomorrow across the SJV. Lingering post frontal upslope clouds and south valley light rain and drizzle will stick around on Monday. Windy and cold will be the call for Monday, as high temperatures will not even get into the 70s in the SJV. Winds will increase later today across the west side of the SJV as the cold front gets closer. We will also see gusty winds across the Kern county mountain passes and desert slopes. Blowing dust and sand will reduce visibility on the desert highways. Shortwave ridging will build in on Tuesday with clearing and light winds. Another cold front will move inland across NORCAL Tuesday night with a trailing cold front that is forecast to weaken as it moves south into Merced county Wednesday. NBM is stalling the front and is producing some light rain mainly north of Fresno county. As the trough digs, the orientation of the front will shift more north and south and will lift back north of Merced county and stalls on Thursday. Of course the timing and intensity of this front has been all over the place even with the ensembles. The models are having trouble moving the front inland and is hanging up off the coast. It appears that the NORCAL coast will get hit hard with heavy rainfall based on current GEFS QPF forecast. As the boundary off the coast weakens, another strong cold front will move inland Friday and clip the northern SJV and into Mariposa county as well into YNP. This system quickly falls apart as another cold front will make landfall into NORCAL Saturday afternoon and evening. Deeper moisture is forecast to remain north of Fresno County on Sunday with showers possible. The westerlies have really picked up as we are seeing multiple fronts have impacts on California's weather. && .AVIATION... Precipitation will spread southward over central California after 00Z Monday. Expect areas of MVFR in mainly light showers, with some local IFR and mountain obscurations in the higher terrain. VFR conditions will otherwise prevail across Central California through at least the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... On Monday, October 18th, 2021, unhealthy for sensitive groups in Sequoia National Park and Forest. Further information is available at Valleyair.org. && .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 and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 8 AM PDT Monday for CAZ338. Wind Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to 11 PM PDT this evening for CAZ300-301-304-305-308-309-313. Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 5 AM PDT Monday for CAZ323-326. && $$ public/aviation/fw....JDB pio/idss/sm...........CMc weather.gov/hanford