Mother Nature tried unsuccessfully to dampen inaugural spirits Tuesday, with temperatures plunging to below freezing as hundreds of thousands flocked to the National Mall.
Temperature hit about 22 degrees around 9:30 a.m. and the National Weather Service predicted a high of 32 degrees for the day, with a low reaching down to 17 degrees. Forecasts included the chance of snow flurries.
People were lining up in the bitter cold at entrances to the National Mall as early as 3 a.m., which resulted in a few cases of hypothermia.
“We have had a handful of cases down on the mall, but nothing real serious,” Alan Etter, spokesman for the D.C. Fire Department.
The average temperature for Washington on Jan. 20 is about 42 degrees. The last time it was this cold in Washington, Bill Clinton was still in his first term.
Weather has had a greater impact on some inaugurals.
Ronald Reagan was forced to cancel his outdoor swearing in ceremony and the parade for his second inaugural in 1984 as temperatures plummeted in D.C. During John F. Kennedy’s inaugural, the city was blanketed by several inches of snow. Thousands of workers, hundreds of Army vehicles and troops with flame throwers were used to clear the inaugural route.
Tradition holds that the ultimate victim of inaugural weather was William
Henry Harrison who, on a cold, wet day in 1841 delivered a two hour speech without an overcoat. He died of pneumonia 30 days later. Modern medical scientists are not convinced that Harrison¹s speech led directly to his death.
The tourists descending on the capital had been warned to dress in warm
layers and most complied. Just in case, coffeehouses around the District were opened earlier than usual and had lines out the door by mid-morning. Street vendors were doing well for themselves by selling hand warmers and Obama hats, scarves and gloves.
Hundreds of firefighters and paramedics were ringing the Mall just in case.
