Inauguration Weather Extremes Through History

Jan. 13, 2009 -- "I knew it would be a cold day when I was made president," William Howard Taft joked just a century ago, taking office in 1909 in what has been described as the worst inaugural weather ever.

Ten inches of snow fell. Wind downed trees and telephone poles. Streets were clogged and trains stalled.

And that was when presidents were sworn in in March.

Now the ceremony is held in January and President-elect Barack Obama is hoping his weather luck holds.

He chose an outdoor location for his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last August and got a balmy night with no precipitation. On election night the weather favored his Chicago victory celebration, with the temperature around 60 degrees, unusual for a November night in Chicago.

So, what to expect on this Inauguration Day?

Well, normal wouldn't be so bad.

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The normal high temperature for the day is in the low to mid-40s and the typical noon reading would be about 37 degrees, under a partly cloudy sky with a 10 mph wind.

On a typical Jan. 20 there is about a 1 in 20 chance of snow during the ceremony. But there is about a 3 out of 10 chance that snow will already be on the ground, the National Weather Service reports.

While the event is still a week away, the current Weather Service forecast for Jan. 20 is morning clouds giving way to afternoon sun with highs in the upper 30s and a 10 percent chance of precipitation.

"Historians are always trying to read symbolism into inaugurations," says Donald Ritchie, associate historian at the Senate Historical Office. "If the sun breaks through and there is a burst of light just as the person steps forward, this is a good omen; this is something that goes back to Roman days."

For example, "It was warm and sunny on Ronald Reagan's first inauguration; people saw that as a good omen."

On the other hand, Ulysses S. Grant's "second inauguration was so cold that all you hear about is the discomfort of the people who went to the inauguration and then went to the inaugural ball."

"They had canaries in cages all over the pension building, and the canaries froze; so that was taken as a symbol that this was not going to be a good time," Ritchie said.