Rain fell over the iconic Rose Parade on Thursday for the first time in 20 years, as flood warnings and evacuation orders in Southern California joined snow flurries and frigid temperatures in the center of the country to mark the first day of 2026.
Marching bands, floats and crowds of spectators were soaked by 2.5 to 5 cubic centimeters of rain on New Year’s Day at the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena. A temperature of 14.4 degrees Celsius was recorded at the start of the parade at eight in the morning
Hundreds of thousands of people gather along the nearly 10-kilometer route in Pasadena, where the two-hour parade began. Millions more watch it on national television. Pasadena Rose Bowl organizers, the group that organizes the parade before the college football game, said they made only small changes to accommodate the weather, such as raising the tops of the convertibles carrying Grand Marshall Earvin “Magic” Johnson and other celebrities.
The rain forecast for the Rose Parade, which has been held in dry conditions for 20 years, worsened as the week progressed. On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for all California counties and a coastal flood advisory through Sunday afternoon along much of the Pacific coast near San Francisco.
Meanwhile, residents in areas hardest hit by last year’s devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires were under evacuation warnings.
In New York City, the sun came out ahead of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural celebration, but other areas of the Northeast and Midwest were hit by an Alberta Clipper storm and an arctic front that brought flurries of snow and strong winds.
Conditions varied widely, from falling snow to heavier flurries, from Wisconsin through northern Illinois and Michigan and into northern New Jersey, southeastern New York and New England.
About a quarter of flights were delayed at both San Diego International Airport and Boston Logan Airport, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
