Labor Day Weekend Forecast: “Weather aware” as Hurricane Marie moisture may impact

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — This week featured a very welcome change in the form of autumn-like air to kick off meteorological autumn. Wednesday morning was nearly wintry as far as the temperatures went, with Lake of the Woods actually falling to below freezing at 31! Meanwhile other mountain valley locations woke up to readings from the upper 30s to the lower 40s. The South Valley had pleasantly cool conditions with lows descending into the 50s.

This weekend we are expecting area temperatures to nudge up just a tad, and while most of the weather action from Hurricane Marie is expected to bypass Kern County it looks like a corridor of impactful weather may develop over portions of Southern California and this could move across at least some of our area too.

The period to watch will be late Saturday night and into Sunday morning. That is when the trough of low pressure that has been with us for days will get a temporary boost from an upper-level low swinging toward the central coast. The jet stream could strengthen and be in a position to help pull up a surge of tropical moisture from Marie and direct it into southern California. At the same time a zone of atmospheric lift and instability may develop due to this weather choreography, leading to the development of showers and thunderstorms from the coastal waters, through some of the SoCal metros, up across the mountains and through the deserts all the way toward Las Vegas.

Depending on how things develop, our desert areas and maybe the southern mountains of Kern County could see some of this activity so it’ll be a good idea to be “weather aware out there” especially if you are planning any outdoor events or activities this weekend.

Finally, significant surf and dangerous rip currents could lead to risky swimming conditions along Southland beaches.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Chief Meteorologist Ilya Neyman