Rain fell on the famous Rose Parade on Thursday for the first time in 20 years, as flood warnings and evacuation orders in Southern California joined blizzards and frigid temperatures in the country’s midsection to celebrate the first day of 2026.
Marching bands and floats Crowds of spectators Drenched by one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm) of New Year’s Day rain on day 137 Rose parade In Pasadena. The temperature reached 58 °F (14.4 °C) at the start of the show at 8 a.m.
Across the country, in New York City, hats and gloves were as essential as New Year’s Eve noisemakers in the city Drop the ballTemperatures near freezing seemed to be the coldest in 10 years.
Hundreds of thousands of people are gathering along the nearly six-mile (10-kilometer) route in Pasadena, where the two-hour parade kicked off. Millions more are watching on national television. Organizers with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the group that organizes the parade before the Rose Bowl college football game, said they made only small changes to accommodate the weather, such as raising the hoods of convertibles carrying Grand Marshal Earvin “Magic” Johnson and other dignitaries.
Rainfall forecasts for Rose Parade, which has been dry for 20 years, increased throughout the week. The National Weather Service on Thursday issued a flood watch for all California counties and a coastal flood watch through Sunday afternoon along most of the Pacific Coast near San Francisco.
At the same time, residents of the areas most affected by it Devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area last year They were under evacuation warnings.
In New York City, the sun rose in front of Mayor Zahran Mamdani’s home Opening celebrationBut other areas of the Northeast and Midwest were hit by Alberta’s Clipper storm and an arctic front that brought blizzards and high winds.
Conditions varied widely — from snow showers to severe storms — from Wisconsin through northern Illinois and Michigan to northern New Jersey, southeastern New York and New England.
About a quarter of flights from San Diego International Airport and Boston Logan have been delayed, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.