Fog and a freeze? What can Fresno expect following this week’s rain and snow storm

Fresno has had a couple of eventful weather days and the week has just started.

The area saw more than a quarter of an inch of rain Monday and close to another quarter-inch Tuesday.

That rain came with some hail, thunder and lightning and left several areas of town with weather-related power outages into election night.

There was also heavy snowfall in the foothills and likely a few thunder snow events, according to the National Weather Service, though no official reports of the rare phenomenon — when thunder and lightning occur during snowfall — were made.

The snowfall had several roads (including highways 168 and 120) under chain control Tuesday night and delayed Yosemite High School by two hours Wednesday morning.

While the bulk of that storm has passed, snow levels were still at 4,000 feet, according to the NWS, leaving areas such as Interstate 5 over the Grapevine into Southern California “under threat of snowfall.”

A Winter Storm Warning remained in effect as of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The story for the rest of this week: fog and freeze.

“The challenge will become whether the cold air or the moist air will dominate the next few days,” the weather service said in its daily forecast discussion Wednesday.

Temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to low-30s through Thursday, but will likely be kept from a full freeze by the amount of moisture remaining after the storm.

In any case, Fresno should see dense fog for Thursday and Friday, the weather service said.

There is another storm on the horizon this weekend, the weather service said, though it is unclear whether it will bring much precipitation. It should, minimize any extended periods of fog into next week.

This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 11:02 AM.