More storms, chilly temps headed for Tulare County, Sierra

Valley rain and mountain snow are returning to Central California just days after an atmospheric river drenched the region.

The Visalia area received one-tenth of an inch of rain Thursday morning while the foothills saw about half an inch.

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Near-freezing temperatures will follow the storm Friday and Saturday night, and another storm may return to the region next week, forecasters with the National Weather Service Hanford office said.

"In fact, many areas in the Valley may not see highs get much above 46-48 degrees Friday or Saturday. Of course, this means morning lows will be quite cold as well," forecasters said.

Graupel, or "corn snow," fell in parts of Visalia overnight Wednesday. The soft hail is caused by supercooled droplets of water that freeze on falling snowflakes.

Sierra Nevada snowfall could reach a foot and a half in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Roads leading to the Giant Forest in Sequoia will close Friday due to the storm.

Despite the rain and snow, all of Tulare County remains in "exceptional drought," the worst level of drought, according to the federal U.S. Drought Monitor.

"Despite the beneficial nature of this week’s storm event, significant precipitation deficits (ranging from 4 to 20-plus inches) still exist across California and the state’s largest reservoirs are still at critically low levels," the monitor's report states. Lake Shasta is currently at 46% of the historical average (25% of capacity) and Lake Oroville at 62% of average (31% of capacity).

California also recorded its warmest lowest-average temperatures for November this year, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.

However, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. On Dec. 14, a network of snowmelt monitors recorded normal-to-above-normal levels of water content across the Sierra and its basins.

It's still early in the water year that begins in Oct. 1, though, and a clearer picture of the California snowpack won't be available until early spring.

Weekend forecast

• Friday: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 47. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

• Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

• Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 48. Calm wind.

• Saturday Night: Patchy frost after 11pm. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Calm wind.

• Sunday: Areas of frost before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Calm wind.

• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 5 mph.

• Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

• Monday Night: A 10 percent chance of rain after 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. East southeast wind around 5 mph.

• Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 53. East southeast wind around 5 mph.

• Tuesday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 41. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

• Wednesday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 52. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Joshua Yeager is a reporter with the Visalia Times-Delta and a Report for America corps member. He covers Tulare County news deserts with a focus on the environment and local governments.

Follow him on Twitter @VTD_Joshy. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Chilly temperatures, storms headed for Tulare County