Joshua Tree, California Weather
Ceanothus blooms again. Day 93 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Joshua Tree weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 12:20 AM PDT · Open-Meteo
- TodaySep 21Clear later——88°68°—
- TuesdaySep 22Clear——85°62°-3°
- WednesdaySep 23Clear——89°68°+4°
- ThursdaySep 24Clear——90°70°+1°
- FridaySep 25Clear——90°71°0°
- SaturdaySep 26Overcast——90°70°0°
- SundaySep 27Overcast——92°72°+2°
Air quality now AQI 36 · Good
AQI 36 (Good), driven by PM2.5. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points). PM2.5 at 9.1 µg/m³ (AQI 51), ratio 0.46 with 8 mph wind — characteristic of long-range haze transport rather than a local source.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 1 PM.
What's driving it
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 9.1 µg/m³ (AQI 51), ratio 0.46 with 8 mph wind — characteristic of long-range haze transport rather than a local source.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.46
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- transport
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
September dries up ditches or breaks down bridges.
- Moonrise
- 4:04 PM
- Moonset
- 1:28 AM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Ceanothus blooms again
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Joshua Tree at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 78°F (high 88°F, low 68°F), 2°F above the 76°F normal for Sep 21
- Last frost: February 28 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 4 km away)
- Microseason: Sep 21–25
- Planting calendar: September — plant beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots; harvest beans, summer squash, winter squash
15-Day Forecast — Joshua Tree
- Mon88°68°4%
- Tue85°62°0%
- Wed89°68°0%
- Thu90°70°8%
- Fri90°71°6%
- Sat90°70°1%
- Sun92°72°5%
- Mon93°74°11%
- Tue94°76°13%
- Wed77°69°10%
- Thu79°65°5%
- Fri83°71°5%
- Sat87°73°6%
- Sun86°74°5%
- Mon79°64°3%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of September 21, the growing season is at its peak — the first frost (around December 1) is weeks away. Fall transplants go in about 10–12 weeks before the first frost, September 8 to September 22 here. This city's planting calendar for September: plant beans, squash, fall brassicas, and carrots; harvest beans, summer squash, and winter squash.
Sun & seasons in Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree sits in San Bernardino County, where the year’s longest day runs 14h 26m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 52m — a swing of +4h 33m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Los Angeles, the state’s largest city, lies about 120 miles to the W. The nearest town Joshua Tree tracks is Indio, roughly 27 miles to the S.
Air quality in Joshua Tree
Air quality in Joshua Tree’s county has trended cleaner since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2023 (median AQI 71).
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| February | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| April | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| May | tomatoes, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, summer squash, garlic |
| June | squash | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| July | beans, squash | tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, winter squash |
| August | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | tomatoes, summer squash, winter squash |
| September | beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| November | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| December | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
Joshua Tree peaks at about 86°F in July and bottoms near 48°F in December; January brings the heaviest rain (1.2 inches) and June the least (0.0 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 1.2″ | 3 |
| February | 51° | 0.7″ | 3 |
| March | 56° | 0.5″ | 2 |
| April | 62° | 0.2″ | 2 |
| May | 70° | 0.1″ | 1 |
| June | 78° | 0.0″ | 0 |
| July | 86° | 0.3″ | 2 |
| August | 85° | 0.4″ | 2 |
| September | 78° | 0.2″ | 2 |
| October | 67° | 0.3″ | 1 |
| November | 56° | 0.2″ | 2 |
| December | 48° | 0.5″ | 4 |
Regional context
Similar climates Yucca Valley, CA, Homestead Valley, CA, Twentynine Palms, CA
Per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Joshua Tree runs from a 49°F January mean to 86°F in July, a 36°F seasonal spread, with near 4.4 inches of precipitation across about 22 wet days.
Cool-season fronts carry Joshua Tree's rain: January logs 1.2 inches on 3.2 days, against June's 0.0 inches on 0.1 — winter does the heavy lifting in Joshua Tree. That groups Joshua Tree with places like Yucca Valley, CA, Homestead Valley, CA and Twentynine Palms, CA on the same cool-season storm track.
Around February 28, Joshua Tree sheds its freezing nights — lettuce, chard, arugula, and mustard greens go into Joshua Tree's beds. Heat-demanding starts go out a fortnight on in Joshua Tree, after the soil warms and cold snaps clear. The season ends by December 1 in Joshua Tree, once hard frosts set back in. Open lawns in Joshua Tree whiten first when frost returns.
Similar climates: Yucca Valley, CA, Homestead Valley, CA, Twentynine Palms, CA, Morongo Valley, CA, Desert Edge, CA.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Joshua Tree?
- In Joshua Tree, expect the last spring frost near February 28; Joshua Tree's first autumn frost comes around December 1.
- What is the rainy season in Joshua Tree?
- January is the wettest month in Joshua Tree, about 1.2 inches on average; the year totals roughly 4 inches.
- What is the warmest month in Joshua Tree?
- The warmest stretch in Joshua Tree comes in July, around 86°F on average.
- What is the coldest month in Joshua Tree?
- On average December is the chilliest month in Joshua Tree, about 48°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Joshua Tree?
- Frost-hardy sowings begin at February 28 in Joshua Tree; warm-season starts follow two weeks on.
- How many rainy days does Joshua Tree get?
- Expect roughly 22 wet days a year in Joshua Tree.
- What hardiness zone is Joshua Tree?
- Joshua Tree's USDA zone comes from its December mean (48°F); enter the ZIP on the USDA lookup for the number.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Joshua Tree?
- Joshua Tree's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Joshua Tree?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Joshua Tree in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Joshua Tree?
- Current conditions for Joshua Tree and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Joshua Tree forecast updated?
- The Joshua Tree forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Joshua Tree?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Joshua Tree are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Joshua Tree?
- The next few days in Joshua Tree's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Joshua Tree sits at 34.1°N; its climate zone is hot-summer Mediterranean (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Joshua Tree
- 92252