Cooler week ahead, with chance of showers by Thursday

After a warmer weekend, today will bring a slight drop in temperature, cooling to the low to mid-70s for much of the week.

The high Sunday in Modesto was 81. Today will reach near 78, with a mostly sunny sky, according to the National Weather Service.

Today’s expected high falls just short of the historic average temperature for this date – 80 degrees – according to Modesto Irrigation District. The record high for May 11 was 97 (set in 2001) and the minimum high was 60 (set in 1998).

Tonight will bring more clouds and a west/northwest wind of 5 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. The low tonight will be about 50 degrees –true for the next couple of days.

Tuesday should bring a big drop in high temperature – the all way to 73, the weather service predicts. Wednesday will be much the same.

Thursday’s high should be near 72. The mostly cloudy day brings a 30 percent chance of showers after noon. The chance of showers will carry all the way into Saturday.

The high Friday is expected to be near 73, climbing to near 77 on Saturday. Sunday, the high should be back up to 80.

This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 7:46 AM with the headline "Cooler week ahead, with chance of showers by Thursday."