Hard freeze in the forecast for Modesto early Tuesday, says weather service
A windy, wet and cold week ahead for Modesto will include an overnight temperature Tuesday morning that’s among the lowest recorded for the date.
The National Weather Service has issued a hard freeze watch for Tuesday between 3 and 9 a.m. The thermometer is expected to hit 29 degrees. That’s a low beaten only by the 25 degrees recorded in 1950 and 27 degrees in 1949 and 1962, according to Modesto Irrigation District weather archives.
If a hard freeze warning/watch is issued for your area, there is little you can do to protect plants,” the weather service says in an online frost and freeze information page. “If you can move your sensitive plants inside, do so because the freeze will kill them.”
Another precaution residents might want to take is wrapping outdoor pipes and faucets with newspaper, foam, rags or other insulating material and securing it with string, wire or tape.
High wind gusts that recently downed trees and limbs and power lines around Stanislaus County also are in the forecast again this week. Strong southerly winds Tuesday night and Wednesday could reach up to 45 mph in the Modesto area, the weather service says.
Rain is in the forecast from Tuesday through at least Saturday. Tuesday night and Wednesday, the chance of precipitation in Modesto is 90 percent, the weather service says, and it could be heavy at times. Modesto is predicted to receive 2 to 3 inches just between Tuesday afternoon and Friday morning.
Daily highs in Modesto for most of the week are expected to be in the low 50s, and not reaching higher than 54. Aside from Tuesday morning’s hard freeze, overnight lows should be in the 40s.
