Palm Desert Temps May Plummet By 30 Degrees As Cool Weather Returns

PALM DESERT, CA — Warm days of springtime weather will blow away later this week as a cold front sweeps across the Inland Empire. Daytime highs were predicted to fall by as much as 20 degrees from where they were Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

In Palm Desert the daytime temperatures Tuesday would hover around 97 degrees Tuesday, while other parts of Coachella Valley could reach 100 degrees. Temperatures Wednesday were predicted to reach the upper 80s, falling to the mid-70s Thursday, forecasters said. Overnight lows will range from the mid-50s to the low-60s.

Why the shift?

An upper-level trough of low pressure would descend into the Inland Empire starting Wednesday and could bring scattered rain showers across the region, a released statement said.

"West winds will increase ahead of this feature, especially by Wednesday night along the desert slopes and parts of the deserts," the NWS spokesperson wrote. "Drizzle or light showers will be possible, as well, along and west of the mountains Wednesday night through Thursday."

That dip in the weather would begin to vacate as of Thursday and behind it, a weak high-pressure system would build Friday raising temperatures back to their springtime norms into the weekend.

Don't worry. Those April showers won't amount to much.

The rainfall is expected to amount to less than a tenth of an inch in most locations, they said.

Like Monday, daytime highs in the Riverside metropolitan area will peak in the mid-80s Tuesday, falling to the mid-70s Wednesday and barely cracking 60 on Thursday, meteorologists said. Overnight lows will generally hover in the low to mid-50s Tuesday and Wednesday, and falling below 50 on Thursday night, according to the NWS.

In the Coachella Valley, the daytime mercury will approach 100 degrees Tuesday, the upper 80s Wednesday and the mid-70s Thursday, forecasters said. Overnight lows will range from the mid-50s to the low-60s.

In Southwest Riverside County, the highs will top out in the upper 70s Tuesday, the mid-60s Wednesday and the upper 50s Thursday, according to the NWS. Lows will range from the mid-40s to the low-50s.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.