Inauguration Day Weather: Compared With History, Joe Biden Gets Lucky

Ronald Reagan's 1985 inauguration was forced indoors due
to record cold and bitter wind chills. 

As Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States, gawd knows the biggest concern today is NOT the weather.  

With the threat of insurrectionists still simmering and the pandemic making public appearances in crowds risky, today's weather is not the thing that has people panicking. 

For the record, the weather forecast for today in Washington DC is pretty benign.  

There's a risk of an early snow shower there, but skies will clear as temperatures rise to the mid 40s -fairly close to normal. Wind gusts exceeding 30 mph from the northwest will make it feel colder.  

Biden still insists on having his inauguration outdoors, according to tradition. I'd rather have him wear a bulletproof vest than an overcoat, for safety's sake, but he probably should wear both. 

As is the case in most of the nation, the weather on Inauguration Day in Washington is not great. 

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt enduring soaking rains and
temperatures in the low to mid 30s during 
the 1937 inauguration ceremonies.

According to the National Weather Service office near Washington DC,  on average, the temperature at noon there, when the president is sworn into office, is around 37 degrees. The wind chill would be around 31 degrees. 

There's a one in six chance it would be raining at the time, and a one in 20 chance that snow would be coming down.  

For Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration, it rained a little, despite his protestation that it didn't (one of his first lies)! It was warmer than average though, with temperatures in the upper 40s. 

Needless to say, since it's midwinter, the weather is a real crapshoot on inauguration day in the Capitol.  They've had everything thrown at them.

In past inaugurations, Ronald Reagan holds the record for both warmest and coldest January 20 ceremonies. 

When Reagan was sworn in on January 20, 1981, it was a toasty 55 degrees. After Reagan's re-election, the January 20, 1985 inauguration noon weather was 7 degrees above zero with wind chills in the minus teens. The ceremony was forced indoors and the parade was canceled due to the bitter weather. 

Inaugurations until 1937 were held on March 4.  In that period, the warmest ceremony was for Andrew Jackson in 1829, when it was around 57 degrees.  The chilliest March inauguration was for Ulysses S. Grant in 1873 when it was 16 degrees.  

Jackie Kennedy emerges from a pre-inaugural
ball with JFK in tow during a snowy
inaugural week in 1961.

The record for the hottest inauguration came shortly after Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency in 1974.  Gerald Ford was sworn in as president on August 9, 1974 when the temperature stood at 89 degrees. 

Inaugurations have had some nasty weather, and might have been the cause of death for one president.  As the National Weather Service office near Washington DC tells us from 1841:

"William Henry Harrison was worn into office on a cloudy, cold and blustery day. His speech lasted one hour and 40 minutes and he rode a horse to and from the Capitol without a hat or overcoat. Pneumonia developed from a lingering cold he caught on that day and he died just one month later."

Other presidents who faced awful weather on Inauguration Day include Franklin Pierce in 1853, who delivered his inaugural address in a snowstorm. 

In 1909, Inauguration Day for William H. Taft featured heavy snow and strong winds that toppled trees and telegraph poles.  In 1937, for Franklin D. Roosevelt's inauguration, it poured all day with temperatures barely above freezing. Some sleet mixed in. 

In 1961, eight inches of snow hit Washington DC on the evening before the inaugural, causing massive traffic jams and forcing John F Kennedy to miss some pre-inaugural celebrations. 

Whatever happens with the weather or anything else today, we wish our new president godspeed and the best of luck with the huge challenges the nation is facing.