National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Showers and Storms in the East; Dangerously Hot and Dry in the West

Scattered showers and storms are expected across portions of the Central and Eastern U.S. through the end of the week. Meanwhile, dangerous heat will intensify across the Desert Southwest and Intermountain West. Hot, dry weather and increasing winds will allow elevated wildfire conditions to return to the northern Intermountain West, where air quality issues persist from ongoing fires. Read More >

 
Our Service Area

The NWS San Joaquin Valley County Warning and Forecast Area (CFWA) includes a large portion of the central California interior. Our CWFA lies between the crests of the Diablo Range and the Sierra Nevada from Merced and Mariposa Counties south through the Tehachapi Mountains, just beyond Bakersfield. It also includes all of Yosemite National Park and the Kern County portion of the Mojave desert. Elevations vary from only 90 feet above sea level near the Merced County line, to 14,495 feet at the peak of Mt. Whitney (the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States). Our service area includes valley, mountain, and desert climates, divisible into 21 forecast zones...



Several recreational areas lie within the service area...
 
National parks
1. Yosemite
2. Kings Canyon
3. Sequoia
National Forests
4. Stanislaus
5. Sierra
6. Sequoia
Parks in HNX CWA
State parks
7. Red Rock Canyon
8. Great Valley Grasslands
9. Tomo-Kahni
State reserves - 10. Tule Elk
State recreational areas
11. McConnell
12. Millerton Lake
13. San Luis Reservoir
State historical parks
14. Wassama Round House
15. Colonel Allensworth
16. Fort Tejon
17. George J. Hatfield


Demographics of the public service/forecast area are as follows, using 1994 census data...
 
County Population Area (mi2)
Fresno 737,289 6017.9
Kern 617,528 8162.0
Kings 113,089 1391.6
Madera 107,004 2153.4
Mariposa 15,772 1462.9
Merced 194,407 1372.0
Tulare 346,843 4839.4
Yosemite Nat'l Park n/a 1200.0
Total 2,035,226 26,599.2


Most of the economy of the service area is related to agriculture. However, many jobs are related to oil production, forestry, and aerospace. Lemoore Naval Air Station, China Lake Naval Weapons Center, and Edwards Air Force Base are also major employers in the service area.