Weather News

Rain forecast for Fresno area, meteorologists say. Thanksgiving day is a different story

A bicyclist keeps his head warm with a Santa hat as he rides his bike on Ventura Street in downtown Fresno on Friday afternoon, Dec. 16, 2016.
A bicyclist keeps his head warm with a Santa hat as he rides his bike on Ventura Street in downtown Fresno on Friday afternoon, Dec. 16, 2016. sflores@fresnobee.com

The weather in Fresno that’s forecast to be unseasonably warm for Thanksgiving is expected to give way this weekend to rain, meteorologists said Wednesday.

With highs in the upper 60s in Fresno and much of the central San Joaquin Valley, Thursday is expected to be about 5 degrees warmer than is typical for the holiday, the National Weather Service in Hanford said.

A low pressure system making its way to the Valley from up north was forecast to bring rain Monday and into Tuesday morning, meteorologists said.

That could bring about a quarter-inch of precipitation to Fresno, Madera, Merced and the rest of the Valley.

The rain could total a half-inch to 1 inch in the foothills in places like Mariposa and Shaver Lake, the weather service said.

Snow could reach down to 3,000 feet on Monday.

The Fresno area has recorded about 2.5 inches of rain for the season, according to the service’s almanac. The normal average is more than 5 inches.

Tioga Road in Yosemite closed for season

Anticipating snow beginning Sunday, officials with Yosemite National Park declared Tioga Road closed for the season.

“It typically reopens in late May or June, depending on conditions,” the park service said on social media Friday.

The status of the roads is available around the clock at 209-372-0200 (then press 1 and 1 again) for current road conditions.

This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 8:23 AM.

Thaddeus Miller
Merced Sun-Star
Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.
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