Rains poured down on the iconic 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 country’s midsection to mark the first day of 2026.
Marching bands, floats, and throngs of spectators were soaked by one to two inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) of New Year’s Day rain at the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena, with the temperature standing at a chilly 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14.4 degrees Celsius) at the 8 a.m. start of the parade.
Across the country, in New York City, hats and gloves were as necessary as noisemakers at the city’s New Year’s Eve ball drop, where temperatures near freezing marked the coldest celebration in a decade.
Hundreds of thousands gathered along the nearly six-mile (10-kilometer) route in Pasadena as the two-hour parade kicked off. Millions more tuned in to watch on national television. Organizers at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses said they made only small adjustments to accommodate the weather, such as keeping the tops up on convertibles carrying grand marshal Earvin “Magic” Johnson and other VIPs.
Rain forecasts had been growing all week leading up to the parade. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for all California counties and a coastal flood advisory through Sunday afternoon for much of the Pacific Coast near San Francisco.
Residents in the areas hit hardest by last year’s devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires were under evacuation warnings as the rains arrived.
Meanwhile, in New York City, the sun shone briefly ahead of newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural celebration, but many areas in the Northeast and Midwest were battling an Alberta clipper storm that brought snow squalls and high winds.
Conditions varied widely — from snow showers to heavier squalls — 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 out of both San Diego International Airport and Boston Logan, as reported by FlightAware.
