Inaugural Weather
Weather conditions for each Inauguration are listed in descending order with the most recent first. Be sure to visit NOAA's Inaugural Weather page, as well.
| Date | Event | President | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 20, 2009 | Fifty-Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies | Barack H. Obama | Noon conditions: Temperature: 28°F with winds NNW at 13 mph, gusting to 23 mph. Few clouds at 4,500 feet, overcast at 25,000 feet. |
| January 20, 2005 | Fifty-Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies | George W. Bush | Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. Northwest wind 14 mph. Around 1" of snow lay on the ground. 35°F noon temperature. |
| January 20, 2001 | Fifty-Fourth Inaugural Ceremonies | George W. Bush | Cold and rainy, with temperature around 35°F. |
| January 20, 1997 | Fifty-Third Inaugural Ceremonies | William J. Clinton | Partly sunny with a high overcast. Winds were from the south at 7 mph. Estimated noon temperature of 34°F. |
| January 20, 1993 | Fifty-Second Inaugural Ceremonies | William J. Clinton | Sunny and pleasant with estimated noon temperature of 40°F. |
| January 20, 1989 | Fifty-First Inaugural Ceremonies | George H.W. Bush | Mostly cloudy, mild and breezy, with a noon temperature of 51°F. |
| January 21, 1985 | Fiftieth Inaugural Ceremonies | Ronald W. Reagan | It was sunny, but bitter cold. Wind chill temperatures fell into the -10°F to -20°F range in the afternoon. Estimated noon temperature of 7°F. |
| January 20, 1981 | Forty-Ninth Inaugural Ceremonies | Ronald W. Reagan | Mostly cloudy and mild, with a noon temperature of 55°F. |
| January 20, 1977 | Forty-Eighth Inaugural Ceremonies | James E. Carter | It was cold and sunny. The wind chill temperature was in the teens. Estimated noon temperature of 28°F. |
| January 20, 1973 | Forty-Seventh Inaugural Ceremonies | Richard M. Nixon | Cloudy and windy, with a noon temperature of 42°F. |
| January 20, 1969 | Forty-Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies | Richard M. Nixon | It was cloudy with rain and sleet later in the day. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F. |
| January 20, 1965 | Forty-Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies | Lyndon Baines Johnson | Skies were cloudy and one inch of snow lay on the ground. Estimated temperature of 38°F. |
| January 20, 1961 | Forty-Fourth Inaugural Ceremonies | John F. Kennedy | Snow into the early morning left 8 inches on the ground. It was sunny but cold the rest of the day. Army flame throwers were used to clear snow from Pennslyvania Avenue. Estimated noon temperature of 22°F. |
| January 20, 1957 | Forty-Third Inaugural Ceremonies | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Light snow in the early morning. Cloudy skies with a few flurries in the afternoon. Estimated noon temperature of 44°F. |
| January 20, 1953 | Forty-Second Inaugural Ceremonies | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Cloudy skies, with a noon temperature of 49°F. |
| January 20, 1949 | Forty-First Inaugural Ceremonies | Harry S. Truman | Mostly sunny and windy. Estimated noon temperature of 38°F. |
| January 20, 1945 | Fortieth Inaugural Ceremonies | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Light snow ended around 9 am that morning. Cloudy skies. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F. |
| January 20, 1941 | Thirty-Ninth Inaugural Ceremonies | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Sunny, but cold with a brisk wind. Wind chill 10°F; noon temperature of 29°F |
| January 20, 1937 | Thirty-Eighth Inaugural Ceremonies | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Cold with heavy rains. Between 11 am and 1 pm, 0.69 inches of rain fell. Some sleet and freezing rain fell in the morning. Estimated noon temperature of 33°F. |
| March 4, 1933 | Thirty-Seventh Inaugural Ceremonies | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Mostly cloudy with a few peaks of sun. Estimated noon temperature of 42°F. |
| March 4, 1929 | Thirty-Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies | Herbert C. Hoover | A heavy rain began just before the oath of office was administered, and the Capitol grounds and parade route were so crowded that it was impossible for anyone to run for cover. By the time he completed his inaugural address, President Hoover was soaking wet. Estimated noon temperature was 48°F, and total rainfall was .40 inches. |
| March 4, 1925 | Thirty-Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies | Calvin Coolidge | Mostly sunny skies. Estimated noon temperature of 44°F. |
| March 4, 1921 | Thirty-Fourth Inaugural Ceremonies | Warren G. Harding | Sunny. Estimated temperature of 38°F. |
| March 5, 1917 | Thirty-Third Inaugural Ceremonies | Woodrow Wilson | Partly cloudy and windy. Estimated noon temperature of 38°F. |
| March 4, 1913 | Thirty-Second Inaugural Ceremonies | Woodrow Wilson | Overcast, but mild. Estimated noon temperature of 55°F. |
| March 4, 1909 | Thirty-First Inaugural Ceremonies | William H. Taft | Heavy, drifting snow, and strong winds. The 10 inch snow fall ended at 12:20 p.m., but the afternoon remained cloudy and windy. Estimated noon temperature of 32°F. |
| March 4, 1905 | Thirtieth Inaugural Ceremonies | Theodore Roosevelt | Sunny with strong northwest winds. Patches of snow remained on the ground from a snow fall the day before. Estimated noon temperature of 45°F. |
| March 4, 1901 | Twenty-Ninth Inaugural Ceremonies | William McKinley | Overcast. It rained overnight and then began again during the ceremony and ended at 3:45 pm. Total rainfall was 0.32 inches. Estimated noon temperature of 47°F. |
| March 4, 1897 | Twenty-Eighth Inaugural Ceremonies | William McKinley | Clear. Estimated noon temperature of 40°F. |
| March 4, 1893 | Twenty-Seventh Inaugural Ceremonies | Grover Cleveland | Snow began during the early morning and ended around 1 pm. One to two inches fell across the area. A biting wind blew from the northwest. The crowd was small for the ceremony. Many planned events were cancelled. Estimated noon temperature of 25°F. |
| March 4, 1889 | Twenty-Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies | Benjamin Harrison | Rained all day. Total rainfall was 0.86 inches. Took oath of office in a downpour under an umbrella. Estimated noon temperature of 43°F. |
| March 4, 1885 | Twenty-Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies | Grover Cleveland | Sunny. Estimated noon temperature of 54°F. |
| March 4, 1881 | Twenty-Fourth Inaugural Ceremonies | James A. Garfield | Snow all night until about 10 am. The afternoon was sunny and windy. Estimated noon temperature of 57°F. |
| March 5, 1877 | Twenty-Third Inaugural Ceremonies | Rutherford B. Hayes | Cloudy with brief periods of light snow. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F. |
| March 4, 1873 | Twenty-Second Inaugural Ceremonies | Ulysses S. Grant | The morning low temperature of 4°F was a record for the month of March. The day remains the coldest March day on record. During the day, bitterly cold winds gusted up to 40 mph. By noon, the temperature had risen to 16°F. Wind chill temperatures were -15° to -30°F. |
| March 4, 1869 | Twenty-First Inaugural Ceremonies | Ulysses S. Grant | Light rain all morning stopping just before noon. The afternoon was mostly sunny. Total rainfall was .11 inches and the estimated noon temperature was 40°F. |
| March 4, 1865 | Twentieth Inaugural Ceremonies | Abraham Lincoln | Rain for two days and right up to the ceremony, when it ended and the sun broke through. Total rainfall for the day was .30 inches, with the bulk of it falling near daybreak. Grounds around the Capitol were very soft and muddy. Estimated noon temperature of 45°F. |
| March 4, 1861 | Nineteenth Inaugural Ceremonies | Abraham Lincoln | Rain until mid morning and then sunny and mild in the afternoon. |
| March 4, 1857 | Eighteenth Inaugural Ceremonies | James Buchanan | Light snow and wind with heavier snow during the Inaugural address. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F. |
| March 4, 1853 | Seventeenth Inaugural Ceremonies | Franklin Pierce | Light snow and wind with heavier snow during the Inaugural address. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F. |
| March 5, 1849 | Sixteenth Inaugural Ceremonies | Zachary Taylor | Cloudy with snow flurries. Heavy snow began during the Inaugural ball. Estimated noon temperature of 42°F. |
| March 4, 1845 | Fifteenth Inaugural Ceremonies | James K. Polk | Thunderstorms at dawn with rain during the day. Total rainfall was .40 inches and the estimated noon temperature was 42°F. |
| March 4, 1841 | Fourteenth Inaugural Ceremonies | William H. Harrison | Overcast with a cold wind. Estimated noon temperature of 48°F. |
| March 4, 1837 | Thirteenth Inaugural Ceremonies | Martin Van Buren | Sunny and brisk. Estimated noon temperature of 29°F. |
| March 4, 1833 | Twelfth Inaugural Ceremonies | Andrew Jackson | Poor weather; a deep snow had fallen 3 days before, and snow still stood on the ground. Estimated noon temperature of 29°F. |
| March 4, 1829 | Eleventh Inaugural Ceremonies | Andrew Jackson | Warm and balmy. Estimated noon temperature of 57°F. |
| March 4, 1825 | Tenth Inaugural Ceremonies | John Quincy Adams | Rainy; total rainfall was .79 inches. Estimated noon temperature of 47°F. |
| March 4, 1821 | Ninth Inaugural Ceremonies | James Monroe | Snow began on Saturday evening, March 3, making Washington snowbound by Sunday afternoon. It continued through Inauguration day forcing Monroe to take his oath of office in the House chamber. |
| March 4, 1817 | Eighth Inaugural Ceremonies | James Monroe | Warm and sunny. Estimated noon temperature of 50°F. |
| March 4, 1813 | Seventh Inaugural Ceremonies | James Madison | According the the National Intelligencer, "The day was fine, the sun shone brilliantly." |
| March 4, 1809 | Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies | James Madison | Cloudy. It rained the day before, leaving the streets muddy. |
| March 4, 1805 | Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies | Thomas Jefferson | Fair. Estimated noon temperature of 50°F. |
| March 4, 1801 | Fourth Inaugural Ceremonies | Thomas Jefferson | Mild and beautiful. Estimated noon temperature of 55°F. |
| March 4, 1797 | Third Inaugural Ceremonies | John Adams | Fair. Estimated noon temperature, 53°F |
| March 4, 1793 | Second Inaugural Ceremonies | George Washington | Hazy sunshine and mild. Estimated noon temperature, 61°F |
| April 30, 1789 | First Inaugural Ceremonies | George Washington | Clear and cool |