Cooler Weather Arrives This Week In Palm Desert: Will It Rain?

PALM DESERT, CA — After a brief stint of summer, periodic moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast for the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County and across most of the Inland Empire starting Thursday, meteorologists say. The cold, wet weather will last through the weekend, with snow accumulations in the mountains, forecasters said Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said troughs of low pressure sweeping out of the Pacific Northwest behind a cold front will spin into the region by Thursday evening, generating downpours, the heaviest of which will be in and around higher terrain.

"For Thursday through Saturday ... forecast rainfall for Orange and southwestern San Bernardino counties is now ranging from around 1.75 inches near the coast to two to three inches in the mountains, with local amounts exceeding four inches on the coastal slopes of the San Bernardino County Mountains," the NWS said in a statement. "Snow levels will rise to around 10,000 feet for Thursday morning, fall to around 7,000 feet on Friday, then rise to around 8,000 feet on Saturday."

The Riverside metropolitan area can expect one to two inches of precipitation from Thursday to Saturday, according to meteorologists.

No flood, wind or winter weather advisories are currently in effect, but that may change once the storm system draws closer.

This would be the first major system of the autumn season, the prior one in mid-October producing only about a half-inch of rainfall in the metro area, according to the NWS.

Forecasters said the inclement weather may linger into Sunday, followed by another storm series at the beginning of next week.

High temperatures in the Riverside area Tuesday and Wednesday will peak in the low to mid-80s, then drop coincident with the storms, topping out in the low 60s Thursday to Saturday, with lows all week in the upper 40s to low 50s.

For the Coachella Valley, highs will hover in the low 90s Tuesday and Wednesday, drop to around 80 degrees on Thursday, then stall in the low 70s going into the weekend. Lows will generally range from the low to upper 50s.

In the Temecula Valley, highs will climb into the low 80s Tuesday and Wednesday, then drop into the low 60s Thursday to Saturday, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s most of the week, according to the NWS.

According to the NWS, here is your 7 day forecast for Palm Desert:

Wednesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.

Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night
Showers likely, mainly after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday
Showers likely, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday Night
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Saturday
A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69.

Saturday Night
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Sunday
A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 70.

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Monday
A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 70.