What weekend weather meant for RecFest, Modesto Marathon, and what lies ahead
Unsettled weather continues in the Modesto area, with rain canceling Saturday’s planned Modesto RecFest along the Tuolumne River and cutting short the second session of the Modesto Nuts High School Baseball Showcase but the sky clearing for Sunday morning’s Modesto Marathon.
The forecast for this week is for sunny days Monday and Tuesday before turning partly sunny Wednesday and then mostly cloudy with likely showers Wednesday night.
Saturday morning, RecFest organizers posted on the event’s Facebook page, “RecFest is canceled today unfortunately due to saturated venue conditions and a changing weather forecast. ... We’ll look at another date.”
As for the Modesto Nuts-hosted showcase at John Thurman Field, a partially played high school baseball game and a fully canceled one also are being rescheduled.
Sunday’s marathon started downtown with a light wind and temperatures that rose from 49 degrees to the low 50s, but no rain. The full and half marathons began at 7, followed by the 5k and 10k races.
For the second straight year, the marathon was won by Modesto resident Michael Mrgudic, 28, who finished in 2:31:25, according to preliminary results posted by SVE Timing. In second was Garrett Gardner, 26, of Sacramento, with a time of 2:33:22, and in third was Modesto’s Santiago Ruiz, 23, in 2:35:41.
The top three female finishers were Kendal Paul of North Vancouver, age 19, in 3:05:16; Jennifer Schindler of Carson City, 27, in 3:10:02; and Carmen Fahlen of Modesto, 36, in 3:16:15.
Here’s what’s behind us and ahead, weatherwise
Saturday, 0.24 inch of rain was recorded by the Modesto Irrigation District, coming after 0.17 inch Friday.
The National Weather Service office in Sacramento also reported thunderstorms across interior Northern California on Saturday, bringing heavy downpours, small hail and, between 1 and 8 p.m., 405 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. A map posted by the weather service shows dozens in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties.
Showers are likely Wednesday night, the weather service says, and a chance of showers remains in the forecast through at least Saturday. Between Wednesday and Friday night, there’s a 73% chance of Modesto getting a quarter inch or more of rain, and a 20% chance of a half inch or more, according to a weather service email Sunday afternoon.
Daily high temperatures this week are predicted to be near 66 Monday, 68 Tuesday, 70 Wednesday, 64 Thursday, 61 Friday and 63 Saturday.
This story was originally published March 24, 2024 at 3:12 PM.
