As you might imagine the weather in the Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, and Indian Wells desert areas varies dramatically throughout the year. Anyone planning a wedding should consider the weather before scheduling an outdoor wedding in the Palm Springs desert area. Probably the most important question to answer is “when does the hellish summertime weather end?” Sadly there’s no exact date for the end of the summer. But you can bet that the 100-plus degree daytime temperatures will come to an end sometime during the month of October.
This summer was mild, and on October 3rd, 2010, the high temperature in La Quinta was 95 degrees. Although it was too hot to spend much time outdoors after 11 am, the early morning and late afternoon hours were fantastic. Our low temperature on that day was 70 degrees – so its easy to imagine how pleasant the evenings are. For some reason couples tend to plan their desert-area weddings during the month of May. As Palm Springs area wedding photographer the month of May is my busiest month. This year I photographed three beautiful desert weddings in May, and it was pretty hot. The daytime temperature hovered around 98 degrees, so the wedding ceremonies were scheduled for late in the afternoon – just before sunset. But even at that late hour it was too hot to wear a jacket.
In the winter months heat is not the problem, the wind is. Sand storms can kick up and make quite a mess here in the winter months, (I have a pitted windshield to prove it). Blowing sand can reduce visibility and make it hazardous to drive. The area most affected by blowing sand is along the I-10 freeway corridor. This area is wide open and flat, and the wind howls through the pass which separates Mt. San Jacinto and Mt. San Gorgonio, stirring up the sand which lays all along that route. Evidence of the power of these sandstorms can be seen just north of Thousand Palms, where one of the highest sand dunes in the United States rests. Less-exposed desert areas are less affected by wind storms, least of all the Palm Springs and La Quinta cove areas, because they are sheltered by the surrounding mountains.
In general the best months to plan a Palm Springs area wedding are from November to April. That’s the “high season” when the desert region hosts thousands of visitors and has the majority of big tennis and golf tournaments. It’s a safe bet that the weather will be great during those months – sunny with daytime highs around 75 degrees.
