Palm Springs weather in March

March is wildflower season and, for exactly that reason, one of Joshua Tree's two busiest months — the forum warns the queue at the Joshua Tree entrance can run an hour or more and suggests entering at Twentynine Palms instead, looping east to west and exiting the other side. Blooms follow the winter's rainfall rather than the calendar: in a good year some start in February and most are finished by mid-April, with March and April the dependable middle. On weather, regulars flag how much the month moves — early March often sits in the mid-teens °C and feels cool, while by mid-month it can reach the mid-20s. Nights stay cold either way, near 8°C.

Forum posters describe May in Palm Springs as genuinely hot, with highs commonly in the upper 90sF especially later in the month - one May visitor reported highs in the upper 90s to low 100sF most days, along with warm overnight temperatures and occasional poor air quality from blowing dust and sand. Posters consistently recommend early May specifically over late May for anyone prioritizing pool time without triple-digit heat, describing that window as warm enough to swim in an unheated pool while still falling short of the true 100+F heat typical from June through September. Posters consistently flag May, alongside late October, as a genuine shoulder-season sweet spot for avoiding peak winter rates while still getting comfortable outdoor conditions, at least early in the month. Posters generally recommend planning outdoor time for morning or evening once temperatures climb later in May.

November is the desert at its best, and the forum's own window is roughly 15 October to 1 December: days around 24°C, nights dropping to about 12. Two things they raise that the temperature cannot. First, light — the sun goes behind the mountains close to 4pm and it is dark by about 5 by mid-month, which shortens an afternoon far more than the date suggests. Second, timing inside the month: the end of November fills up with snowbirds arriving and Thanksgiving. Pools swim fine on a sunny day if heated; unheated ones really do not. Rain is rare, though storms do pass through.