Inauguration weather: Trump’s day will be the coldest in 40 years

CNN
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The coldest air of the winter so far will blow into Washington DC on Monday as President-elect Donald Trump rises in front of the capitol to take his oath of office.

The temperature on Inauguration Day at noon — when the president-elect is sworn in — is expected to be in the low 20s, which is about 20 degrees below normal.

It probably will be coldest inauguration day since President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, when the midday temperature was 7 degrees. The midday temperature was 28 degrees for President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.

Winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph are likely Monday. These winds will make conditions feel downright chilly. Wind chills will likely hover around 10 degrees during the daytime Monday and could drop into the single digits after sunset.

A mix of rain and snow is possible on Sunday ahead of the main event, but Monday looks set to be cold and windy but dry so far.

Brutally cold arctic air will tumble south through Canada late this week and pour into the northern United States on Saturday morning. It will then expand across most of the western and central US Saturday and reach parts of the south and east Sunday.

Temperatures could be nearly 30 degrees below normal on Monday for millions across the low 48s in what is already the coldest part of the year.

The inauguration isn’t the only event this cold blast will affect. Temperatures will be in the 20s for Saturday’s mid-afternoon kickoff between the Texans and Chiefs in Kansas City, but wind chills will hover in the low-teens for kickoff and throughout the game.

Brutal cold is also in the forecast for Sunday’s Ravens and Bills game in Orchard Park, New York. Temperatures will be in the upper teens for the early evening kickoff and drop several degrees from there. Wind chills will be in the single digits for the entire game.

There have been 22 inaugurations since the event was moved to January 20 in 1937. Among them, a midday temperature of 24 degrees would be the third coldest — it was 22 degrees for John F. Kennedy’s 1961 swearing-in. Eight inches of new snow fell overnight before.

President Reagan holds the record for the hottest and coldest inauguration in January. While his second Inauguration Day in 1985 was only 7 degrees, his first in 1981 was 55 degrees.