Two warm days in store for Modesto before cooler, wetter weather returns

It’s the warm before the storm.

The high temperature in Modesto on Tuesday will be near 79. Wednesday should be nearly as warm, with a high near 77, according to the National Weather Service. Both days will be sunny.

Wednesday night will be partly cloudy, with a 30 percent chance of showers after 4 a.m. Thursday. That chance of showers will continue into Thursday, mainly before 10 a.m. The day will be cooler, with an expected high near 69.

The weather service says two weak systems will move across Northern California on Tuesday and Thursday, but precipitation will be light and generally north of Interstate 80.

The weather models meteorologists use indicate a return to a cooler, wetter weather pattern beginning this weekend and continuing into the second week of March. But the weather service office in Sacramento said Monday that it was too early to tell how much rain and snow it could bring. A seven-day forecast map through the afternoon of March 6 suggests the Northern San Joaquin Valley could receive between half an inch to an inch of rain.

In Modesto, Friday is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a high near 69 degrees and a 30 percent chance of showers. The chance of precipitation continues into Friday night and Saturday, when the high should be near 68.

Showers are likely Saturday night and Sunday, the weather service predicts. Sunday will be mostly cloudy, and breezy, with a high near 62. There’s a possibility of a thunderstorm that day.

Monday will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and a high near 65.

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 7:47 AM with the headline "Two warm days in store for Modesto before cooler, wetter weather returns."