Heavy Rain in Kings County, California

Twenty four hour spotter rainfall in Lemoore of 0.17 inch.

The weather changed beginning the evening of January 29th as the first storm in over seven weeks reached the central California interior. Rain and mountain snow moved into the northern half of the region during the late evening of the 29th, spread south through the 30th and tapered off the last day of the month. The storm brought wind gusts as high as 50 mph to the mountains and deserts and the first measurable rain since December 7th to the San Joaquin Valley. Fresno broke its driest start to a calendar year at 28 days; the previous record had been 21 days, set in 1903. Bakersfield's dry start ended at 29 days, just breaking the old record of 28 days, set in 1963.

The heaviest snow totals occurred in the higher elevations of the Southern Sierra. For example, 14 inches fell near Devils Postpile, 12 inches just east of Cedar Grove, and 10 inches near Lake Wishon.

The average high temperature for January at Fresno was 12 degrees above normal, and Bakersfield was 11.3 degrees above normal. However, the very dry, stable airmass over the region allowed for strong radiational cooling most nights. The average low temperatures for Bakersfield and Fresno were less than two degrees above normal.

The well above normal high temperatures more than offset the near-normal lows. January 2014 was the second warmest January on record for both Bakersfield and Fresno.