With President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration approaching on Monday, Washington, D.C., is preparing for what could be one of the coldest inaugurations in recent history.
The National Weather Service forecasts a significant temperature drop, with conditions much chillier than typical for this time of year. Meteorologist Brian LaSorsa predicts snow on Sunday, followed by a steep temperature drop and strong wind gusts on Inauguration Day.
“Dangerously cold temperatures with low wind chills are expected,” LaSorsa said, detailing a weather pattern that will see daytime highs only around 20 degrees. The hundreds of thousands expected to gather in the capital will face brisk winds, blowing almost constantly throughout the day, with wind speeds reaching 15 to 20 miles per hour and gusts peaking at 25 to 30 miles per hour.
These conditions will push wind chill values down into the single digits to lower teens, starkly contrasting the region’s usual upper 30s average high around this time of year.
“It’s going to be very, very cold,” LaSorsa emphasized. This inauguration could be among the coldest since Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in in 1985, when severe cold forced the ceremony indoors, and the parade was canceled, with the temperature in single digits and wind chills between -10 to -20 degrees.
Snow remains a possibility, with the National Weather Service setting the chances at 30% as of Tuesday. While the exact severity of snowfall remains uncertain, the potential for significant winter weather has not been ruled out. The weather service continues to monitor the situation, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of Inauguration Day weather.
Historically, Inauguration Day has had its share of harsh weather. In 1841, President William Henry Harrison delivered his inaugural address in miserably cold, wet conditions without a hat or coat, leading to pneumonia that contributed to his death just a month later.
The first January Inauguration Day was held in 1937.
Since then, Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981 was the warmest, with a noon temperature of 55 degrees. The coldest was again Reagan’s, in 1985, when the temperature at noon was only 7 degrees, causing the events to move indoors.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second in 1937 was the rainiest inauguration, which saw 1.77 inches of rain.
The snowiest was in 1961, when eight inches fell the night before John F. Kennedy was sworn in.
The warmest nontraditional date was Gerald Ford’s swearing-in on Aug. 9, 1974, which reached 89 degrees under partly cloudy and hazy conditions.
As the city gears up for Trump’s inauguration, those planning to attend are advised to prepare for potentially severe winter conditions.