Palm Desert, CA Weather

The climate of the Coachella Valley is influenced by the surrounding geography. High mountain ranges on three sides and a south-sloping valley floor all contribute to its year-round warm climate, with the warmest winters in the western United States. Palm Desert has a tropical desert climate: Its average annual high temperature is 89 °F (32 °C) and average annual low is 62 °F (17 °C), but summer highs above 108 °F (42 °C) are common and sometimes exceed 120 °F (49 °C), while summer night lows often stay above 82 °F (28 °C). Winters are warm with daytime highs between 73–84 °F (23–29 °C). Under 5 inches (130 mm) of annual precipitation are average, with over 348 days of sunshine per year. The mean annual temperature at 75.8 °F (24.3 °C) makes Palm Desert one of the warmest places in the United States. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Palm Desert was 125 °F (52 °C) on July 6, 1905. The surrounding mountains create a thermal belt in the southern foothills of Palm Desert, leading to a micro-climate with significantly warmer night-time temperatures during the winter months. The University of California maintains weather stations located in this thermal belt as part of their ecological project in the Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center.