It happened 40 years ago, and it’s happening again Monday.
The inauguration ceremony of Donald J. Trump will be moved indoors Monday due to the extreme cold, the president-elect announced in a statement Friday.
“The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows. There is an Arctic blast sweeping the country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured in any way.”
“It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).
“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather.”
Reagan’s was held indoors
The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan on Jan. 20, 1985, was forced indoors due to intense cold. As USA TODAY noted that day, “The USA’s 50th inauguration today moves indoors – a victim of bong-chilling temperatures that threatened 350,000 invited guests and parade watchers.”
How cold was it in January 1985 in Washington, D.C.? An overnight low of minus 3 degrees only climbed to a high of 17 degrees at 4:45 pm, USA TODAY reported.
This year, the threat is again bitter cold, with wind chill temperatures expected in the single digits.
What’s the forecast?
This Monday, the high temperature will be around 20 degrees, with wind gusts up to 30 mph creating bitterly cold wind chills in the single digits all day and falling below zero at night, the National Weather Service said.
The current forecast high for Inauguration Day would break the record for the coldest Inauguration to take place on that date, according to Weather.com meteorologist Sara Tonks.
What is typical inaugural weather?
The average afternoon high temperature in Washington on Jan. 20 is 45 degrees, based on weather data from 1991 to 2020, the weather service said. The average low is 30 degrees, which is usually about dawn. On average, the temperature at noon, when the oath is given, is 37 degrees.
US President Ronald Reagan is sworn in as 40th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger beside his wife Nancy Reagan during inaugural ceremony, on January 21, 1985, in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC.
What happened in 1985?
As reported in the L.A. Times, President Reagan said that medical and military authorities had warned that “exposed flesh can freeze within five to 10 minutes” in the conditions expected, “triggering considerable danger to many of the parade and ceremony participants, spectators and the general public.”
“The health and safety of those attending and working at these outdoor events must come before any celebrations,” he said.
“It was wise of the president to cancel it,” corps director Peter LaFlamme of the Spartan Drum and Bugle Corps from New Hampshire told USA TODAY in 1985, speaking of the parade.
“It wasn’t human to have it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s Inaugural ceremony moved indoors due to intense cold forecast