Palm Desert weather in December

In December, Palm Desert sees average daytime highs of 60°F and overnight lows near 40°F, with 1.3 in of precipitation across 3.8 wet days and about 9.8 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 62°F in the first days to 59°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 54% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 54 min at the start of December to 9 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Palm Desert's 10th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Palm Desert's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 60°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 40°; 1st coldest
Precipitation: 1.3 in; 3.8 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 48 min; 6:49 AM – 4:35 PM
Cloud cover: 40%; 10th clearest
Wind: 4 mph; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 3.17 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.6; out of 10

Palm Desert is city in Riverside County, California, United States.

Density: 741/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1973

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← November Palm Desert year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 62°F in the first days to 59°F by the end.

A typical December day in Palm Desert reaches about 60°F in the afternoon and slips back to 40°F overnight — a 19°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 50°F and 69°F. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 8°F cooler than November and on par with January.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	62	62	62	61	61	61	61	60	60	60	60	60	60	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	59	59	59
Avg low (°F)	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	41	41	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	40	40

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	62	42
2	62	42
3	62	42
4	61	42
5	61	41
6	61	41
7	61	41
8	60	41
9	60	41
10	60	40
11	60	40
12	60	40
13	60	40
14	59	40
15	59	40
16	59	40
17	59	40
18	59	39
19	59	39
20	59	39
21	58	39
22	58	39
23	58	39
24	58	39
25	58	39
26	58	39
27	58	39
28	58	39
29	59	39
30	59	40
31	59	40

How December really feels in Palm Desert

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Palm Desert weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 12th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	60° / 41°	1.6	4.5	0.2	10	5.8
Feb	62° / 42°	1.8	5.1	0.5	10.7	6.2
Mar	67° / 46°	0.9	3.5	0.2	11.7	7.5
Apr	73° / 50°	0.4	2.3	0	12.8	8.6
May	81° / 56°	0.2	1.2	0	13.7	8.1
Jun	91° / 64°	0.0	0.3	0	14.2	5.0
Jul	96° / 70°	0.3	2	0	14	3.0
Aug	95° / 71°	0.4	2.5	0	13.3	3.2
Sep	89° / 65°	0.3	2	0	12.2	5.4
Oct	79° / 55°	0.3	1.4	0	11.2	8.6
Nov	68° / 46°	0.5	1.8	0.1	10.3	8.0
Dec	60° / 40°	1.3	3.8	0.3	9.8	5.6

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 54% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 33%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	70	70	69	69	69	68	68	68	68	68	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	67	65	65	65	65	64	64	64	64	64	63	63
Cloudier (%)	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	35	35	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	37	37

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	67	33
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	65	35
22	65	35
23	65	35
24	65	35
25	64	36
26	64	36
27	64	36
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	63	37
31	63	37

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Palm Desert gets around 1.3 in of rain and snow over 3.8 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 12% and peaks near 15% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15

	Rain chance (%)
1	10
2	10
3	10
4	10
5	10
6	10
7	10
8	10
9	11
10	11
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	12
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	14
20	14
21	14
22	14
23	14
24	14
25	14
26	14
27	15
28	15
29	15
30	15
31	15

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of December feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in December

Winds average 4 mph in December, the calmest month.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 3 mph on the calmest days to 4 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	4	calm
2	4	calm
3	4	calm
4	4	calm
5	4	calm
6	4	calm
7	4	calm
8	4	calm
9	4	calm
10	4	calm
11	4	calm
12	4	calm
13	4	calm
14	4	calm
15	4	calm
16	4	calm
17	4	calm
18	4	calm
19	4	calm
20	4	calm
21	4	calm
22	4	calm
23	4	calm
24	4	calm
25	4	calm
26	4	calm
27	4	calm
28	3	calm
29	3	calm
30	3	calm
31	3	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 min at the start of December to 9 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:38 AM to 6:55 AM, and sunset from 4:33 PM to 4:42 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8
Sunrise (AM)	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:40	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:45	6:45	6:46	6:47	6:47	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:50	6:51	6:51	6:52	6:52	6:53	6:53	6:53	6:54	6:54	6:54	6:55	6:55
Sunset (PM)	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:33	4:34	4:34	4:34	4:34	4:35	4:35	4:35	4:36	4:36	4:37	4:37	4:38	4:38	4:39	4:39	4:40	4:40	4:41	4:42	4:42

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.9	6:38	4:33
2	9.9	6:38	4:33
3	9.9	6:39	4:33
4	9.9	6:40	4:33
5	9.9	6:41	4:33
6	9.9	6:42	4:33
7	9.8	6:42	4:33
8	9.8	6:43	4:33
9	9.8	6:44	4:33
10	9.8	6:45	4:33
11	9.8	6:45	4:33
12	9.8	6:46	4:34
13	9.8	6:47	4:34
14	9.8	6:47	4:34
15	9.8	6:48	4:34
16	9.8	6:49	4:35
17	9.8	6:49	4:35
18	9.8	6:50	4:35
19	9.8	6:50	4:36
20	9.8	6:51	4:36
21	9.8	6:51	4:37
22	9.8	6:52	4:37
23	9.8	6:52	4:38
24	9.8	6:53	4:38
25	9.8	6:53	4:39
26	9.8	6:53	4:39
27	9.8	6:54	4:40
28	9.8	6:54	4:40
29	9.8	6:54	4:41
30	9.8	6:55	4:42
31	9.8	6:55	4:42

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 3.17 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.17 kWh/m² to a high of 8.58 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 3.17 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.3	Moderate
2	3.3	Moderate
3	3.3	Moderate
4	3.2	Moderate
5	3.2	Moderate
6	3.2	Moderate
7	3.2	Moderate
8	3.1	Moderate
9	3.1	Moderate
10	3.1	Moderate
11	3.1	Moderate
12	3.1	Moderate
13	3.1	Moderate
14	3.1	Moderate
15	3.1	Moderate
16	3.1	Moderate
17	3.1	Moderate
18	3.1	Moderate
19	3.1	Moderate
20	3.1	Moderate
21	3.1	Moderate
22	3.1	Moderate
23	3.1	Moderate
24	3.1	Moderate
25	3.1	Moderate
26	3.2	Moderate
27	3.2	Moderate
28	3.2	Moderate
29	3.2	Moderate
30	3.2	Moderate
31	3.2	Moderate

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Palm Desert?

Our two travel scores rate December for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.6

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.4

Beach & pool

12th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Palm Desert for sightseeing.

What to pack for Palm Desert in December

From December's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In December, Palm Desert sees daytime highs around 60°F and nights near 40°F. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Palm Desert in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Palm Desert peaks around June 23 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	4	5	5	8	9	11	11	11	9	6	4	3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	5	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	8	Very high
May	9	Very high
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Palm Desert in December

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where December falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Palm Desert is worst in September — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.3× the cleanest month (December, 5 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	6	7	8	8	7	14	10	11	20	6	5	5
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Good	Good	Moderate	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	6	Good
Feb	7	Good
Mar	8	Good
Apr	8	Good
May	7	Good
Jun	14	Moderate
Jul	10	Good
Aug	11	Good
Sep	20	Moderate
Oct	6	Good
Nov	5	Good
Dec	5	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Palm Desert?

Palm Desert sits at 33.7°N, 116.4°W, 220 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Rancho Mirage, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Palm Desert

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Palm Desert.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Palm Desert has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 925 ft around an average of 272 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,276 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 11,650 ft.

The land around Palm Desert is covered by artificial surfaces (62%) within 2 miles, bare terrain (47%), artificial surfaces (22%) and shrubs (20%) within 10 miles, and bare terrain (44%) and shrubs (29%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

925 ft

artificial surfaces 62%

10 miles

5,276 ft

bare terrain 47%

50 miles

11,650 ft

bare terrain 44%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← November Palm Desert year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Rancho Mirage 2.5 mi · La Quinta 5.6 mi · Cathedral City 6.2 mi · Indio 9.3 mi · Coachella 12 mi · Palm Springs 12 mi · Desert Hot Springs 18 mi · Yucca Valley 27 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 100% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $90,027; 2025
Happiness: 6.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 98%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 5.8; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 12.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Palm Desert (33.7225°, -116.377°, elevation 220 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	62	42
2	62	42
3	62	42
4	61	42
5	61	41
6	61	41
7	61	41
8	60	41
9	60	41
10	60	40
11	60	40
12	60	40
13	60	40
14	59	40
15	59	40
16	59	40
17	59	40
18	59	39
19	59	39
20	59	39
21	58	39
22	58	39
23	58	39
24	58	39
25	58	39
26	58	39
27	58	39
28	58	39
29	59	39
30	59	40
31	59	40

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	67	33
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	65	35
22	65	35
23	65	35
24	65	35
25	64	36
26	64	36
27	64	36
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	63	37
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	10
2	10
3	10
4	10
5	10
6	10
7	10
8	10
9	11
10	11
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	12
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	14
20	14
21	14
22	14
23	14
24	14
25	14
26	14
27	15
28	15
29	15
30	15
31	15

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	62	42
2	62	42
3	62	42
4	61	42
5	61	41
6	61	41
7	61	41
8	60	41
9	60	41
10	60	40
11	60	40
12	60	40
13	60	40
14	59	40
15	59	40
16	59	40
17	59	40
18	59	39
19	59	39
20	59	39
21	58	39
22	58	39
23	58	39
24	58	39
25	58	39
26	58	39
27	58	39
28	58	39
29	59	39
30	59	40
31	59	40

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	67	33
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	65	35
22	65	35
23	65	35
24	65	35
25	64	36
26	64	36
27	64	36
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	63	37
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	10
2	10
3	10
4	10
5	10
6	10
7	10
8	10
9	11
10	11
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	12
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	14
20	14
21	14
22	14
23	14
24	14
25	14
26	14
27	15
28	15
29	15
30	15
31	15

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	62	42
2	62	42
3	62	42
4	61	42
5	61	41
6	61	41
7	61	41
8	60	41
9	60	41
10	60	40
11	60	40
12	60	40
13	60	40
14	59	40
15	59	40
16	59	40
17	59	40
18	59	39
19	59	39
20	59	39
21	58	39
22	58	39
23	58	39
24	58	39
25	58	39
26	58	39
27	58	39
28	58	39
29	59	39
30	59	40
31	59	40

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	69	31
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	67	33
15	67	33
16	67	33
17	67	33
18	67	33
19	67	33
20	67	33
21	65	35
22	65	35
23	65	35
24	65	35
25	64	36
26	64	36
27	64	36
28	64	36
29	64	36
30	63	37
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	10
2	10
3	10
4	10
5	10
6	10
7	10
8	10
9	11
10	11
11	11
12	11
13	12
14	12
15	12
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	14
20	14
21	14
22	14
23	14
24	14
25	14
26	14
27	15
28	15
29	15
30	15
31	15

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100