Weather Alerts for California

Recent Locations: Mantua, NJ Mount Hope, KS Bell Gardens, CA

Current Alerts for Bell Gardens, CA: Extreme Heat Warning

1. Extreme Heat Warning for: Coalinga - Avenal; Fresno-Clovis; West Side Mountains South of 198; Buena Vista; Bakersfield; South End San Joaquin Valley; Fresno-Tulare Foothills; South End Sierra Foothills

2. Extreme Heat Warning for: Cuyama Valley; Santa Clarita Valley; Santa Lucia Mountains; Southern Salinas Valley; San Luis Obispo County Interior Valleys; San Luis Obispo County Mountains; Santa Ynez Valley; Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains; Western Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area; Calabasas and Agoura Hills; Western San Fernando Valley; Eastern San Fernando Valley; Southeastern Ventura County Valleys; Santa Susana Mountains; Southern Ventura County Mountains; Northern Ventura County Mountains; Interstate 5 Corridor; Western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 Corridor; Eastern San Gabriel Mountains; Western Antelope Valley Foothills; Eastern Antelope Valley Foothills; Antelope Valley; Los Angeles County San Gabriel Valley

3. Extreme Heat Warning for: Indian Wells Valley; Mojave Desert Slopes; Mojave Desert

4. Extreme Heat Warning for: Santa Ynez Mountains Western Range; Santa Ynez Mountains Eastern Range; Los Angeles County Inland Coast including Downtown Los Angeles; Eastern Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area

5. Extreme Heat Warning for: West Side Mountains north of 198; Mariposa Madera Foothills

6. Extreme Heat Warning for: Western Siskiyou County; Central Siskiyou County

7. Heat Advisory for: Lake Casitas; Ojai Valley; Central Ventura County Valleys

8. Heat Advisory for: Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties

9. Heat Advisory for: Los Banos - Dos Palos; Merced - Madera - Mendota; Planada - Le Grand - Snelling

10. Heat Advisory for: Northern Humboldt Interior; Southern Humboldt Interior; Northwestern Mendocino Interior; Southeastern Mendocino Interior

11. Heat Advisory for: Northern Trinity; Southern Trinity; Northeastern Mendocino Interior; Northern Lake County; Southern Lake County

12. Heat Advisory for: Shasta Lake Area / Northern Shasta County; Northern Sacramento Valley; Central Sacramento Valley; Southern Sacramento Valley; Carquinez Strait and Delta; Northern San Joaquin Valley; Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County

13. Heat Advisory for: West Side of Fresno and Kings Counties; Caruthers - San Joaquin - Selma; Buttonwillow - Lost Hills - I5; Delano-Wasco-Shafter; Hanford - Corcoran - Lemoore; Visalia - Porterville - Reedley; Southeast San Joaquin Valley; Kern River Valley

14. Red Flag Warning for: Western Klamath National Forest; Central Siskiyou County Including Shasta Valley; Siskiyou County from the Cascade Mountains East and South to Mt Shasta; Modoc County Except for the Surprise Valley; Siskiyou Mountains; Southern Oregon Cascades; Klamath Basin and the Fremont-Winema National Forest; South Central Oregon Desert including the BLM Land in Eastern Lake and Western Harney Counties

Want more detail? Get the Complete 7 Day and Night Detailed Forecast!

Current U.S. National Radar--Current

The Current National Weather Radar is shown below with a UTC Time (subtract 5 hours from UTC to get Eastern Time).

National Weather Forecast--Current

The Current National Weather Forecast and National Weather Map are shown below.

National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow National Weather Forecast and Tomorrow National Weather Map are show below.

North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

This map shows recent moisture content over North America. Bright and colored areas show high moisture (ie, clouds); brown indicates very little moisture present; black indicates no moisture.

Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow

Weather Topic: What are Stratocumulus Clouds?

Home - Education - Cloud Types - Stratocumulus Clouds

Next Topic: Stratus Clouds

Stratocumulus clouds are similar to altocumulus clouds in their fluffy appearance, but have a slightly darker shade due to their additional mass.

A good way to distinguish the two cloud types is to hold your hand out and measure the size of an individual cloud; if it is the size of your thumb it is generally an altocumulus cloud, if it is the size of your hand it is generally a stratocumulus cloud.

It is uncommon for stratocumulus clouds to produce precipitation, but if they do it is usually a light rain or snow.

Next Topic: Stratus Clouds