Gusty wind, freezing temperatures to hit Valley floor

Snow that fell as low as 2,000 feet in Oakhurst on Thursday and early Friday is being followed by gusty winds and subfreezing temperatures starting Saturday night in the Valley.

A heavy-wnd advisory was forecast for Friday night through Saturday, with gusts as high as 55 mph expected until 7 a.m.

With temperatures falling as low as 20 degrees in some areas this week, a hard-freeze warning will be in effect Saturday night through Sunday, the National Weather Service said. In Fresno, temperatures will hover around 27 degrees until Sunday night, with a slight chance of rain raising temperatures back up to the mid-30s.

Community warming centers will be open at various locations. Hanford’s, at the Longfield Center, 560 S. Douty St., will be open from 1 p.m. Saturday to 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The Fresno Rescue Mission, 310 G St., will open its chapel, and the Visalia Rescue Mission has a men’s shelter at 322 NE First Ave. and a Shelter of Hope, 1413 N. Burke St., for women and children age 12 and younger.

About 0.34 inches of rain fell in Fresno late Thursday and early Friday, with northern Clovis having the highest totals at 0.38 inches, National Weather Service forecaster William Peterson said.

Tuolumne Meadows got a foot of snow and Yosemite Valley got 2 to 4 inches, Peterson said.

Friday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol reported a rock slide had hit a vehicle on Highway 180 below the snow line near mile marker 102, partly closing the westbound lane.

This story was originally published December 25, 2015 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Gusty wind, freezing temperatures to hit Valley floor."