Abnormally cold weather forecast for Trump's inauguration
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Forecast high temperatures for Monday from the National Weather Service. Image: Pivotal Weather
President-elect Trump's Monday inauguration ceremony is set to be colder than the norm.
Why it matters: D.C. is preparing for 250,000 ticketed guests and thousands more at the National Mall for the outdoor ceremony — which has caused emergencies from extreme weather in its history.
- "It's going to be very cold out there for any folks attending the inauguration," Eric Taylor, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, told Axios.
State of play: Air temperatures during the day on Monday are expected to be in the low- to mid-20s, Taylor said.
- Wind chill factors by about noon will be between 12ºF and 14ºF.
- Monday is set to be more dry than the weekend, which has rain (and possible Sunday snow) on the forecast.
- Breeze could be sustained at 20 to 30 miles per hour at times.
Context: Monday is slated to be cooler than Jan. 20 has been in D.C. in recent decades, per the NWS.
- The normal high for that date is 45ºF and the normal low is 30ºF, calculated from 1991 to 2020 data.
Flashback: Official weather record-keeping for the event began in 1871.
- Inauguration Day, previously held in March, was moved to Jan. 20 in 1937.
President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated and sworn in on both the warmest and coldest Jan. 20s, per the NWS.
- His 1981 inauguration was at 55ºF with mostly cloudy skies. His second ceremony in 1985 had to be held indoors because of 7ºF temperature at noon.
President William Henry Harrison developed pneumonia from the weather on his Inauguration Day in 1841 and died a month later, the NWS reported.
- He rode a horse to and from the Capitol without a hat or overcoat and delivered an hour and 40 minute long speech.
President William Taft's 1909 ceremony was forced indoors because of a storm that brought 10 inches of snow to D.C.
- "It took 6,000 men and 500 wagons to clear 58,000 tons of snow and slush from the parade route," per the NWS.
President Franklin Roosevelt's second ceremony holds the record rainfall for the date at 1.77 inches.
- "At the president's insistence, he rode back to the White House in an open car with a half an inch of water on the floor," NWS said. "Later, he stood for an hour and a half in an exposed viewing stand watching the inaugural parade splash by in the deluge."
Go deeper: Flags to fly at full-staff for inauguration after Trump's complaints
