Cotton Center, California 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

856
FXUS66 KHNX 261927
AFDHNX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
1227 PM PDT Tue May 26 2026


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.KEY MESSAGES...
1. Wind Advisory in effect 11 PM Monday to 11 AM Wednesday for
Indian Wells Valley, Mojave Desert Slopes, and Mojave Desert.

2. Lake Wind Advisory in effect until 5 PM Wednesday for Kern
River Valley, including Lake Isabella.

3. Cut-off low pressure system will lead to increased winds and
potential for precipitation in the Sierra Nevada and the
foothills, with snow levels around 7000 feet.

4. A slight chance for thunderstorms exists for Wednesday and
Thursday along the Sierra Nevada crest.

5. Practice safety around lakes, rivers, and streams, as water
is still running cold.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A strong cut-off low pressure system is expected to move into
the region by this afternoon, bring with it strong winds for the
Desert and mountain ridges, and precipitation for the Sierra
Nevada and its foothills by tomorrow and Thursday. A late season
system like this one is fairly unusual fort his time of year, as
we would normally be coming into our dry season and seeing
warmer afternoons. This system will keep temperatures around 10
degrees below normal through Thursday, with low to mid 70`s
expected for the Valley and Desert regions.

The main story with this system will be late season precipitation,
mainly expected in the mountains and foothills tomorrow and
Thursday with some trace amounts this evening along the
foothills. Along with that rainfall, snow levels are expected to
be low enough that a trace to a few inches of snow above 7000
feet, particularly on the highest peaks. Current probabilities
for at least 4 inches of snowfall over the next three days are
30 to 50 percent above 9000 feet. Along with this
precipitation, the chances for thunderstorms along the Sierra
Crest are expected to be 15 to 25 percent both tomorrow and
Thursday (with Thursday closer to 30% on the leeward side of the
range). As mentioned above, this system continues producing
strong winds along the mountain ridges and Mojave Desert Slopes
as of the most current observations. Stronger gusts are also
expected to continue in the Kern River Valley and Lake Isabella
into tomorrow afternoon.

This system is expected to move east by Friday after remaining
aloft for a few days, with zonal flow taking it`s place through
the weekend. This will lead to an increase in temperatures back
up to seasonal normals by Sunday. Then a ridge is expected to
slowly build back in over the Southwest and California, leading
to temperatures rising above normal once again, as we would
expect for early June.

&&


.AVIATION...
VFR conditions prevailing across interior central California
for the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
None.


&&

.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 until 11 AM PDT Wednesday for CAZ337>339.
Lake Wind Advisory until 5 PM PDT Wednesday for CAZ332.
&&

$$

EW

weather.gov/hanford