Palm Springs is sheltered by the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south, and the San Jacinto Mountains to the west. This geography gives Palm Springs its hot, dry climate, with 354 days of sunshine and less than 6 inches (150 mm) of rain annually. Winter temperatures average in the 70s with nights in the low-to-mid 40s, but the dry desert heat of summer pushes daytime temperatures well above 100, with overnight temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s.
Average seasonal temperatures:
- January: Daytime highs of 70 °F (21 °C), with overnight lows of 40 °F (4 °C)
- April: Daytime highs of 87 °F (31 °C), with overnight lows of 52 °F (11 °C)
- July: Daytime highs of 108 °F (42 °C), with overnight lows of 73 °F (23 °C)
- October: Daytime highs of 91 °F (33 °C), with overnight lows of 57 °F (14 °C)
The highest temperature on record in Palm Springs is 123 °F (51 °C), recorded on July 10, 1979, and August 1, 1993. The lowest temperature on record is 19 °F (−7 °C), recorded on January 18, 1971. There are an average of 179.4 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 5.9 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower.
Average annual precipitation is 5.47 inches (136.75 mm). There is an average of only 17 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year on record was 1983 with 13.72 inches (343 mm) and the dryest year on record was 1996 with a mere .76 inch (19 mm).
The wettest month was January 1943 with 8.43 inches (210.75 mm), including a record 4.57 inches (118.75 mm) in 24 hours. Although snow is common in the winter on the mountains above Palm Springs, it has rarely fallen in the city, because of the low elevation [474ft]. But in January 1930 2.0 inches (50 mm) fell
