Snow in Modesto?

Yes, it’s happened before. But I don’t remember weatherpersons predicting it for Feb. 3.

We were a little shocked when my son in Utah shared with the entire family a screenshot from his iPhone weather app saying it was snowing Friday morning in Modesto.

My wife’s snarky response: “It must be that Chinese spy balloon messing up the technology.”

We immediately checked the weather apps on our own phones. Sure enough, “Snow for the next hour,” it showed at 7:20 a.m.

I went outside and was greeted with a slight, misty drizzle. Not really rain. But sure as heck not snow.

I came inside, sat at my laptop and checked the National Weather Service’s webpage for Modesto. “Chance (of) rain.”

Weather.com: “Clouds with rain.”

AccuWeather: “Light rain.”

Looks like the iPhone weather app got snowed.

It has snowed in Modesto in years past. A quick Google search produced a few hits about a blanketing of snow here in 1962. On the rare occasion it happens, it’s big news.

But did it really snow here Friday?

The same app said it was 45 degrees. Meteorologists will need to explain to us how it can snow when it’s that warm on the ground. I assume it’s possible because it’s a lot colder up in the clouds.

My mother-in-law, who lived most of her life in Modesto before moving to Sacramento a few years ago, weighed in as well, having seen the same startling forecast for Modesto on her app. So did my brother-in-law, from the South Pacific.

An hour after our son’s initial text, my iPhone weather app still showed snowflake icons and the word “flurries” just under the “Modesto” banner. But I didn’t see anything even approaching snow out my window.

Let me know if you did.