diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/Utils.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/Utils.scala
index 1fa1142f00113..40a5a9e750daa 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/Utils.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/util/Utils.scala
@@ -740,9 +740,13 @@ private[spark] object Utils extends Logging {
    * always return a single directory.
    */
   def getLocalDir(conf: SparkConf): String = {
-    getOrCreateLocalRootDirs(conf).headOption.getOrElse {
-      val dirPaths = getConfiguredLocalDirs(conf)
-      throw new IOException(s"Failed to get a temp directory under [${dirPaths.mkString(",")}].")
+    val localRootDirs = getOrCreateLocalRootDirs(conf)
+    if (localRootDirs.nonEmpty) {
+      localRootDirs(0)
+    } else {
+      val configuredLocalDirs = getConfiguredLocalDirs(conf)
+      throw new IOException(
+        s"Failed to get a temp directory under [${configuredLocalDirs.mkString(",")}].")
     }
   }