Pleasant Coachella Kickoff: Cooler Temps with Wind & Dust at Times

Festival season has arrived! Coachella kicks off today, with the valley looking at fairly pleasant and mild conditions, increasing winds and slightly above-average temperatures today before temps turn cooler through the weekend.

A series of low pressure systems moving into SoCal will bring gusty winds at times--especially in the mountain passes and desert slopes, potentially up to 45mph. We could also see areas of blowing dust with a Air Quality Alert in place through 5am Sunday.

Festivalgoers can expect highs to drop into the mid to upper 70s Sunday and Monday, with overnight lows dipping into the 50s, making for cooler and breezier evenings. Nighttime concerts should be quite pleasant. A Wind Advisory is in place until 11pm tonight for the High Desert, including Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms. 

Saturday afternoon and evening should stay mostly dry, but winds will continue to pick up at times.

The strongest of these two Pacific systems arrives Sunday, which is going to bring our "coldest" temperatures more widespread light to moderate rainfall, and even a slight chance of thunderstorms west of the mountains. Most of this moisture looks to stay to the west of us and in the mountains. Most of the Coachella Valley and especially the east side of the valley should stay predominately dry.

Drier and gradually warmer weather returns mid next week. Overall, festival goers should be prepared for wind at times, cooler air, and very slight chance of light rain for opening weekend festivities.