Ponderosa, California Weather
Ponderosa, California — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery, soil and crop conditions for Ponderosa, Tulare County.
Full aviation weather for Ponderosa is published on the Kern Valley Airport (KL05) page, 43 km away. It carries the current METAR decoded into plain language — surface wind, visibility, cloud layers and ceiling, temperature and dewpoint, and altimeter setting — alongside the raw observation as transmitted. 2 airfields within reach of Ponderosa have their own pages, listed below.
The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is shown across its full validity period, with each change group broken out so you can see when conditions are expected to shift. Flight category is derived automatically — VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR — from reported ceiling and visibility, with runway details and field elevation alongside. Observations update roughly hourly and forecasts several times a day.
Other airports near Ponderosa: Porterville Municipal Airport (KPTV) 49 km
Conditions reported at KL05 describe the airfield itself. Weather 43 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at Ponderosa specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
Soil conditions, frost risk and crop weather for Ponderosa.
About Ponderosa, California
Ponderosa lies in a high country embrace, where the Sierra Nevada foothills begin their rugged ascent. It lies 27.4 miles east of Porterville, CA (from Porterville, CA: bearing 84°T), and is situated 16.3 miles east of Springville. Here, the air carries the sharp, resinous scent of pine and the dry whisper of chaparral, a fragrance that clings to the rough bark of ancient oaks and the needles of the dominant ponderosa pines, for which the locality is named. The land slopes, not with gentle acquiescence, but with a more stubborn, broken character, a mosaic of granite outcrops, sun-baked earth, and scrubby vegetation clinging tenaciously to life. In the late afternoon, the light softens, casting long, dramatic shadows that stretch and distort the already uneven terrain, lending a somber beauty to the rugged landscape. The history of Ponderosa is intricately tied to the fortunes of the surrounding mountains, a legacy whispered in the remnants of old mining claims and the enduring presence of cattle ranches. For generations, this land has sustained those who worked its earth and quarried its stone, fostering a spirit of quiet resilience and self-sufficiency. The local economy, though modest, draws its strength from the bounty of the land – timber operations, often conducted with a mindful respect for the towering pines, and the ongoing, unpretentious work of agriculture, where the season’s harvest dictates the rhythm of life. Ponderosa, though not a place of grand pronouncements, holds a distinctive character, a quiet dignity forged in the crucible of its challenging, yet breathtaking, environment.
Live animated radar for Ponderosa and surroundings — RainViewer.
NOAA GOES-16 GEOCOLOR — live animated loop updated every 10 minutes. Shows cloud cover, storm systems and weather patterns across the continental US.
Source: NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East · Public domain · Auto-updates on page reload
| Location | Ponderosa, Tulare County, California |
| Coordinates | 36.105501°N, 118.528143°W |
| Timezone | Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 93265 |
| Area Code | 661 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This Ponderosa, California Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Ponderosa, California, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, NWS extended text forecast, precipitation radar and NOAA GOES-16 satellite imagery. Aviation weather — live METAR observations and TAF forecasts — is published separately on the pages for the nearest reporting airports, linked from the aviation section above. Additional sections may include tide predictions, wave height, wave direction and sea-surface temperature, a barometric pressure trend, and a solunar-based fishing forecast with a fishing-conditions rating for coastal localities, and soil temperature, crop weather and live USGS river gauge data for agricultural areas near a monitored waterway. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for Ponderosa includes coordinates 36.105501°N, 118.528143°W, situated in Tulare County. ZIP code 93265. Telephone area code: 661. Timezone: Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles).
Weather data is sourced from the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and the open-source Open-Meteo API. River and stream data is sourced from the USGS National Water Information System. Tide predictions are sourced from NOAA CO-OPS; marine and solunar data are modeled from Open-Meteo and public sunrise/moon calculations and should be treated as a general guide alongside on-the-water conditions. Radar is provided by RainViewer. Satellite imagery is sourced from NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East and is public domain.
