Inauguration Day weather has varied greatly, impacting ceremonies and traditions over the years
Before 1933, inaugurations happened around March 4. The 20th amendment changed that to January 20, aiming to shorten the wait between Election Day and the new president taking office. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first to be inaugurated on this date in 1937.
On average, D.C. sees highs of 43 degrees and lows of 28 degrees on January 20. The typical noon temperature is around 37 degrees, with a 1-in-6 chance of rain and a 1-in-10 chance of snow.
The warmest inauguration was Ronald Reagan’s first on January 20, 1981, with a noon temperature of 55 degrees. Interestingly, the warmest day on record was August 9, 1974, when Gerald Ford took over after Nixon’s resignation, hitting 89 degrees.
On the flip side, Reagan’s second inauguration on January 21, 1985, was the coldest, with just 7 degrees at noon and wind chills reaching 20 below. This extreme cold forced officials to move the ceremony indoors. Other notably cold inaugurations include Kennedy in 1961 at 22 degrees and Grant in 1873 at 16 degrees.
The snowiest inauguration was in 1961 when 8 inches fell the night before Kennedy’s ceremony. The wettest was in 1937, with 1.77 inches of rain during Roosevelt’s second inauguration.
One inauguration even had a tragic twist. William Henry Harrison was inaugurated on a cold, wet day in 1841. He chose not to wear a hat or coat during his long speech, which likely led to his pneumonia and death just a month later.
Fun fact: George Washington took his first oath in New York City in 1789, while Jefferson was the first to be sworn in D.C. in 1801.
For Biden’s inauguration, the forecast predicts a cold, mostly dry day with possible early flurries, highs near 40 degrees, and wind chills in the 20s to low 30s.
