Rain fell during the famed Rose Parade on Thursday for the first time in 20 years, as flood warnings and evacuation orders in Southern California joined snow squalls and frigid temperatures in the central part of the country to mark the first day of 2026.
Marching bands, floats and crowds of spectators got soaked by 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of New Year's rain on Highway 137. Rose Parade in Pasadena. At the start of the parade at 8 a.m., the mercury was 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14.4 degrees Celsius).
Across the country, in New York City, hats and gloves were as necessary as skimmers on New Year's Eve. ball dropwhere temperatures close to zero were the coldest in the last 10 years.
Hundreds of thousands of people gather along the nearly six-mile (10-kilometer) route in Pasadena, where the two-hour parade began. Millions more watch on national television. Organizers of the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, the group that organizes the parade before the Rose Bowl college football game, said they made only minor changes to accommodate the weather, such as having the roofs raised on the convertibles carrying Grand Marshal Earvin “Magic” Johnson and other VIPs.
Rain forecasts for the Rose Parade, which has been dry for 20 years, have been rising all week. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for all California counties Thursday and warned of coastal flooding through Sunday afternoon along much of the Pacific Coast near San Francisco.
At the same time, residents of the most affected areas Last year's devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area were under evacuation warning.
In New York, the sun rose before Mayor Zohran Mamdani. inauguration celebrationbut other parts of the Northeast and Midwest were hit by the Alberta storm and a trailing Arctic front that brought snow squalls and strong winds.
Conditions varied widely, from snow showers to stronger squalls, from Wisconsin through northern Illinois and Michigan to northern New Jersey, southeastern New York and New England.
About a quarter of flights were delayed from both San Diego International Airport and Boston-Logan, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
