Does it rain at Joshua Tree?
You might be wondering: does it rain at Joshua Tree? Well, it turns out it does. It was August 18th, 2023, and we had just gotten to Joshua Tree National Park. We were going to camp at Jumbo Rocks National Park. It was our second time camping there so we kind of had an idea of what to expect. This was the weekend before Hurricane Hilary was supposed to make landfall in Southern California. We checked the weather beforehand, and rain was not in the forecast for another couple days. Once we arrived to our campsite, we began unpacking our equipment, expecting to stay there throughout the night. The sky was clear and blue with very minimal cloud cover. We set up our tent, canopy, chairs, etc. It was extremely hot, and we felt dehydrated after unpacking our gear. We sat on our chairs and drank lots of water. Using our tank tops soaked in the melted ice from the cooler, we tried to cool off by wrapping them around our necks.
The Calm Before the Storm
Once the sun went down a bit, we explored our surroundings. We saw a cute rabbit hopping around and began taking pictures of it. We took pictures of ourselves, and then we began taking pictures of the sky which started to get cloudy. These were cumulus clouds, those big fluffy white clouds that look like marshmallows. The sun got closer to the horizon, and we found a nice big boulder to sit on top of to marvel at the beauty of this gorgeous sunset. The sky began to change colors from light blue to a beautiful golden tone, the white clouds also had a golden glow to them and covered the entire sky above us. We turned our heads to check out the sky behind us to find that the clouds began changing to cumulonimbus clouds, they looked a bit more menacing, but we didn’t think anything of it. Once the sun was barely visible on the horizon, we turned our heads to look behind us once again to find that the clouds had now begun to look a little gray. That’s when we thought to ourselves, does it rain at Joshua Tree?
The Light Show in the Sky
We turned to our left and saw a few flashes of lightning. We thought it looked amazing, so we tried capturing the flashes of lightning with our cameras. With the sun almost completely gone now, the skies became considerably darker. The flashes of lightning got closer and closer. I began getting a little worried because I started thinking about those horrible videos I’ve seen of people getting struck by lightning. A bit of time passed and it began sprinkling above us so that’s when we both knew it was smarter if we just headed back to our campsite for cover. We were enjoying the sounds of the rain for a while, but as more menacing clouds rolled in, it got darker, windier, and scarier. I began panicking a bit more because I could see the intense lightning directly above us, and I was afraid of getting struck. We felt as if maybe we were safe enough under our canopy. We sat for a while waiting for this storm to pass. The winds became extreme, swaying the tent and the canopy back and forth. I no longer wanted to stay at the campsite due to this unpredictable thunderstorm.
I was worried our belongings would fly away with the strong winds, getting caught in a flash flood, and getting struck by lightning. I was panicking at this point but luckily, I had Omar there to calm me down. The winds were so crazy, and we were trying to pack our belongings so they wouldn’t get blown away. Both of us felt as if we were getting tossed back and forth while we attempted to pack the car. The wind felt strong enough to carry me away. We were absolutely drenched at this point, and I thought staying in the car was the safest thing to do. Omar sat in the car with me, and we were discussing what to do next. I didn’t care about any of the material stuff. I just feared for our lives. Luckily, his mom and his sister were staying at an Airbnb nearby and I suggested we just meet up with them and pick up the rest of the belongings the next day.
To Remain or Escape
Omar wanted to stay and wait out the storm, but we had no idea if this was some sort of a monsoon or Hurricane Hilary. We made the decision to meet up with his family because he saw how scared I was. He finished packing up the tent and the canopy in the car all by himself with those crazy winds, rain, and lightning. I wanted to go out to help him, but he advised me to just wait in the car. Once everything was packed, he hopped back into the car soaking wet. We were driving to the Airbnb, which was right outside the park. It was pitch black. To make matters worse, the rain was so intense that even with high beams on it was difficult to see the road. We could see some flash flooding begin to occur. Streams of water began to form on the road. I was sitting in the passenger side just taking pictures and videos of everything. Once we were about halfway to the Airbnb, the rain suddenly started to lighten up.
Milky Way Beauty
Omar decided at that moment that we should pull over to the side of the road to take some pictures of the Milky Way. I was a little skeptical at first because I was still shaken up at that point, but we did pull over and I do not regret it. We looked up at the sky and suddenly all those big scary clouds were gone. The sky was for the most part clear. We could see the night sky lit up by so many stars. The Milky Way was clearly visible, so we decided to set up our camera equipment to get a few good shots, but we were both just in awe of how amazing it looked that night. There are no words to describe the feeling we both get from staring at the beauty that is the Milky Way. After we took some shots, we decided to leave Joshua Tree and continue to head over to the Airbnb. When we finally made it to the Airbnb his mother and sister were happy to see us because they witnessed the storm going by and were also worried about us. I was relieved to have made it out safe and sound. It was a roller coaster experience, and it was scary, but I am glad and grateful to be a part of such a rare phenomenon.
Be Prepared, Always
Whether you are planning on hiking locally or spending the weekend camping under the stars somewhere remote, always be prepared. It’s important to check the weather and be able to adapt to the situation you are in. So, does it rain at Joshua Tree National Park? Well, if you plan on visiting Joshua Tree, just know that it actually can rain, and quite hard. But this is not always the case. It can be extremely hot here as well. For the most current information on weather and conditions, please check with the National Park Service.