Bakersfield, at the southern end of California’s Central Valley, receives only around 150 mm (about 6 inches) of rain a year, one of the driest major U.S. cities, concentrated almost entirely in the winter months with a long, extremely hot, dry summer. Because rain is so infrequent, the surrounding flat agricultural landscape and hard-packed desert-adjacent soil mean that occasional intense winter storms can cause disproportionate localized flooding compared with the modest annual total. The nearby Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi foothills can intensify rainfall as storms move across the valley. Because a typical week here involves no rain at all, radar is most useful during the concentrated winter storm season. NWS Doppler radar KHNX (Hanford) covers the region.
Learn more: How Does Rain Radar Work? · Open the full Rain Map