Finger on the Weather

The forecast for Tuesday’s inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States calls for mostly cloudy skies and cold temperatures, with highs in the mid-30s – a crisp backdrop to a historic moment.

But the weather hasn’t always been an afterthought on inauguration day. President William Henry Harrison was sworn into office on a cloudy, cold and blustery day in 1841. His speech lasted for 100 minutes – to this day, it’s the longest inaugural address in American history – and he rode a horse to and from the Capitol without a hat or overcoat. Pneumonia developed from a lingering cold he caught that day. He died just one month later. He was the first president to die in office, and his term remains the shortest ever.

President Franklin Pierce was sworn into office on another cold and snowy day in 1853. Heavy snow fell from dawn until about 11:30 a.m., according to National Weather Service records. Skies looked to be brightening by noon, but shortly after Pierce took his oath of office, snow started again.

As Pierce continued his inaugural address, the snow came down heavier than ever. Abigail Fillmore, First Lady to the outgoing President Millard Fillmore, caught a cold as she sat on the cold, wet, exposed platform during the swearing-in ceremony. The cold developed into pneumonia and she died at the end of the month.

But those two events don’t hold the title of worst inauguration weather ever. I’ll write about that on Tuesday.