When Inauguration Day was nearly snowed out
While Taft’s inauguration dropped to the freezing mark, it was not the coldest Inauguration Day on record.
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President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sworn into office under a mostly sunny sky with highs in the mid-20s, according to the FOX Forecast Center. While very cold, such a forecast will be a breeze compared to inaugurations past when the weather was not so forgiving.
The National Weather Service compiled weather information dating back to 1873 to show a wide range of weather during presidential inaugurations – including the worst weather for the ceremony in over 150 years.
That title goes to William H. Taft's presidential inauguration in 1909. That year, the ceremony was still being held on March 4, but based on the weather that day, you would never guess the date was just a few weeks away from spring.
The worst weather on Inauguration Day
President Taft sits with his wife in a horse-drawn carriage during his Inaugural Parade, after the snow had been mostly cleared. (Library of Congress / Corbis / VCG / Getty Images)
As Taft was making his way to the U.S. Capitol to be sworn in as the 27th President of the United States, his procession had to traverse sleet and snow. According to the NWS, nearly 10 inches of snow had fallen, the most snowfall seen on any Inauguration Day on record.
The heavy snow was made worse by strong, howling winds. Not only did they make the freezing temperatures that day feel ever colder, but they also created piles of snow, or snowdrifts, around the nation’s capital.
The inclement winter weather posed considerable challenges for the logistics surrounding the president-elect’s swearing-in ceremony. The NWS said the winds were so powerful that they brought down telephone poles and trees.
Soldiers at the inauguration of William H. Taft , 1909. Note the snow-covered lot of the U.S. Capitol Building and, in the background, the Library of Congress. (Library of Congress / Corbis / VCG / Getty Images)
Plus, the snow had fallen so much that it brought the city to a halt with trains unable to move and city streets clogged, according to the NWS. To bring the city back to life, 6,000 men and 500 wagons cleared about 58,000 tons of snow and slush – or twice the weight of the Statue of Liberty and her cement foundation.
While this allowed for Taft to arrive at the Capitol Building, his ceremony had to be moved indoors due to the weather. This was likely much to the behest of the large crowd that braved the freezing conditions to watch their new president be sworn in in front of the Capitol.
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When was the coldest Inauguration Day?
Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase holding Bible with hand raised, and Grant with hand on Bible, surrounded by crowd of men. (Library of Congress / FOX Weather)
While Taft’s inauguration dropped to the freezing point, it was not the chilliest Inauguration Day on record.
Of the March inaugurations, the coldest was that of Ulysses S. Grant in 1873, when the temperature dropped to 16 degrees. While rather chilly, it was mild compared to the temperature that morning of 4 degrees, making Grant’s Inauguration Day the coldest March day on record.
However, the coldest Inauguration Day occurred – perhaps unsurprisingly – after the ceremony was moved up in the winter season to January.
President Ronald Reagan (C) is sworn in as 40th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger (R) beside his wife Nancy Reagan (C) during inaugural ceremony, on January 21, 1985 in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington D.C. (AFP / Getty Images)
In January 1985, Ronald Reagan was sworn in with the temperature at 7 degrees and wind chills that dropped as low as -20 degrees, forcing the outdoor ceremony and inaugural parade to be canceled, according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
The setting was in stark contrast to his first inauguration four years prior, when the temperature at the time of the ceremony was a balmy 55 degrees, making it the warmest Inauguration Day on record.