Cooler Weather, Rain On Tap For Palm Desert Next Week

PALM DESERT, CA — Things are about to cool down in the Coachella Valley. For a moment, anyway.

Temperatures are expected to drop next week as a weather system comes out of Canada and moves down the California coast, bringing light rain to most of the Inland Empire — and even the season's first snowfall for some mountainous areas.

The highest temperatures Palm Desert residents will likely see next week are 84 degrees on Monday, dropping to around 77 degrees through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Foreasters said there's a chance of light showers beginning Tuesday night and through Wednesday in Temecula.

"We could be cold, windy and wet for Tuesday and Wednesday," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

There's also a chance for "a dusting of snow" up in the San Bernardino Mountains, above 7,500 feet.

Forecasters say a trough of low pressure and its accompanying cold front will sweep down from the Vancouver area through the Pacific Northwest before pushing inland across California midweek.
While only trace snowfall is expected at the highest points of the San Bernardino Mountains, heavier snow totals are likely farther north in the Sierra Nevada, according to forecast models from AviationWeather.gov.

The first signs of the system’s arrival could appear as early as Monday, when clouds begin to build and daytime highs start to dip.

Weekend highs in the Riverside metro area are forecast to reach the low 80s, but temperatures will fall to the mid-70s on Monday and hover in the upper 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight lows will settle in the low 50s before a gradual warm-up late next week, according to the Weather Service.

For the Coachella Valley, highs will top out in the low 90s this weekend before cooling into the upper 70s to low 80s next week, with lows near 60.

Conditions in the Temecula Valley are expected to mirror those in the Riverside area, forecasters said.

As of Friday morning, no wind or other weather advisories had been issued. Despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, the National Weather Service remains operational as an agency deemed critical to public safety.