Rain To Return To the Coachella Valley

Another storm is on its way to the Palm Springs area.

PALM SPRINGS, CA — Our wet weather isn’t done yet. And those pretty white mountains will likely see another dusting as early as Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

Partly cloudy skies are expected Monday throughout Riverside County, but that’s ahead of a storm that will arrive by Tuesday night and bring a moderate amount of rain throughout the region, according to the National Weather Service.

A storm currently off the coast of northern California will make its way into southern California by Tuesday night and create a chance of rain through Thursday morning, forecasters said.

“The precipitation will end Wednesday night, followed by dry weather Thursday and Friday under weak high pressure aloft,” the National Weather Service said in its forecast discussion. “A week low pressure trough will bring smaller chances of light precipitation this weekend.”

Dry weather is with high surf at the beaches is expected for Monday and Tuesday. Rain is expected for Wednesday, dry weather returns Thursday and Friday before the next chance of precipitation this weekend. Credit: National Weather Service San Diego

Courtesy of the National Weather Service, here is the work-week forecast for Palm Desert:

Today
Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.

Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Calm wind.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Calm wind.

Tuesday Night
A chance of showers after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Wednesday
Rain. High near 61. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night
Isolated showers before 11pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 47. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.

Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49.

Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 68.

This storm will be warmer and less windy than the one that brought snow in the mountains and heavy rain at times throughout the region last week, NWS meteorologist Miguel Miller said.

Snow is again expected to fall, but in the higher elevations. Levels won’t be as low as they were last week and no snow is expected below 8,000 feet, Miller said.

Winds in the mountains and along desert slopes will top out at 35 to 45 mph on Wednesday, the meteorologist said.

Rainfall totals through Thursday could reach 0.5 to 1 inch in the Riverside metropolitan area, 1 to 2.25 inches in the mountains and less than a half-inch in the Coachella Valley and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning, according to the NWS.

Temperatures will stay much warmer this week, with highs in the Coachella Valley expected to dip to the low 60s before warming again through Sunday.

High temperatures Monday could reach 68 degrees in Riverside, 71 in the San Gorgonio Pass, 71 in the Coachella Valley, and 66 in Temecula and 68 in Hemet.

— City News Service contributed to this report