George W. Bush's inauguration took place in dreary weather last Saturday. The temperatures were in the mid 30s and there was occasional rain and drizzle, but at least the conditions weren't so bad that the oath of office had to be held inside. There have been 54 presidential inaugurations and, although the weather hasn't been exactly glorious for all of them, most were conducted out in the elements. The first 3 inaugurations were held in New York (1789) and Philadelphia (1793 and 1797), the site of our first two capitols, but since Jefferson's first inauguration in 1801, all of the others have been held in Washington. By the way, the first 7 inaugurations were held indoors. Our 5th president, James Monroe, was the first to have his inauguration outside, in 1817.

After, Washington's first inauguration on April 30, 1789, March 4 was the date chosen by the First Congress for the inauguration of each new president. Two hundred years ago, it took several months before the elected president made his way to the nation's capitol, so it made sense to delay the inauguration until March. The 20th Amendment changed the inauguration date to January 20 in 1937. By then, vastly improved communication and transportation services permitted a more expeditious transition between administrations. Also, mid January is, in general, drier than early March in Washington. The average March precipitation is about 1/2 inch greater than the average precipitation for January. Chances of precipitation on January 20 during the "swearing in" ceremony are about 1 in 5 and chances of snow are about 1 in 20. The obvious drawback to the January date is the cold. Late January is the coldest time of year in Washington, with an average daytime temperature about 42 degrees F and an average low of about 26 degrees F. For March 4 the normal high is near 52 degrees F and the normal low is approximately 34 degrees F.

Of course, the first time the inauguration was held on January 20 (Franklin Roosevelt's second inaugural), you guessed it, it rained like the dickens. This was the wettest inauguration - 1.77 inches or rain was recorded. Officials tried to talk Roosevelt out of having the inauguration outdoors, but he supposedly said "if they can take it, so can I," in reference to the soggy crowd who had waited in the cold rain to see his "swearing in" ceremony. It was truly a miserable day weatherwise. To make matters worse, March 4 was a beautiful sunny day. I wonder if the Weather Bureau had its budget slashed? However, since 1937, only two inaugurations have been noted for having wet weather, Kennedy's in 1961 (snow) and George W. Bush's (last Saturday). More than one on every three inaugurals held prior to 1937 was marred by rain or snow.

Beginning in 1817, out of all the traditional inaugurations, 11 occurred in rain, 9 in snow, 6 in bitter cold but dry weather, 12 in rather pleasant weather, and the remainder were in cloudy, cool weather. The warmest temperature for the traditional inaugural dates (for those held outdoors) was probably for Andrew Jackson's first inauguration in 1829 - the temperature was estimated to be 57 degrees. The temperature climbed into the mid 50s In 1913 for Woodrow Wilson's first inaugural (March 4) and for Ronald Reagan's first inaugural in 1981 (January 20). Actually, when Washington was "sworn in" on March 4 in 1793, the temperature was estimated to be 61 degrees F, but his oath of office took place indoors. Interestingly, the coldest inauguration day was Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 when the temperature plunged to -2. This is the lowest temperature ever recorded for January 20 in Washington D.C. The snowiest inauguration day was William Howard Taft's in 1909 - ten inches of snow covered Washington.

If someone were to ask you what was the warmest day on which any president was "sworn in," you would be wrong if you said March 4, 1829, March 4, 1913 or January 20, 1981. Technically, it was on August 9, 1973 when Gerald Ford took the oath of office (indoors) after Richard Nixon's resignation - the temperature reached 89 degrees. Other non-traditional dates for the "swearing in," as a result of either assassination or the president dying in office, have taken place in April, July, September, and November - most were held indoors.

Among the more famous inaugurations to go to despite awful weather was William Henry Harrison's in 1841, Franklin Pierce's in 1853, Ulysses Grant's in 1872, Grover Cleveland's in 1889, and John Kennedy's in 1961. Poor Harrison died one month after spending his entire inauguration drenched from a driving rain. The stubborn old soldier refused to take cover or change his wet clothes. Harrison gave the most long-winded inaugural address ever, lasting over 1 1/2 hours, which surely didn't help his health or that of his faithful flock who had to withstand the weather and Harrison's droning speech. The cause of his death was listed as pneumonia. Harrison's immune system could have been weakened from fighting the effects of a cold he caught soon after the inauguration. Of course, shaking hundreds of un-clean hands after the ceremonies likely played a role in picking up a virus that may have led to pneumonia. Interestingly, Harrison's grandson, Benjamin Harrison, also had to endure a rainy inauguration, in 1889. The old expression "the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree" proved true in this case. Benjamin also refused protection from the rain. However, he lived through his 4-year term, perhaps because by then, hygiene and medicine were slightly better.

Ulysses Grant had miserable days for both of his inaugurations. It rained in 1869, and in 1973, it was the coldest March inaugural ever and the second coldest including the January inaugurations. The temperature was only 16 degrees at noon, and the wind added a mean touch to the already biting cold. At his inaugural ball, a number of bottles of champaign were frozen solid, and most guests chose to dance in their overcoats.

For Franklin Pierce in 1853, Grover Cleveland in 1893 and John F. Kennedy in 1961, it was not rain but snow that threatened to cancel the inaugural festivities. It snowed most of the day during Pierce's inauguration, and the inaugural parade was ruined by the cold, wet weather. For Cleveland's second inauguration in 1893, rain changed to snow the morning of the inauguration, and for the remainder of the day, icy winds, piling the snow into 2 and 3 foot drifts, accompanied the inaugural activities. Kennedy's inauguration in January of 1961 went on as scheduled despite 8 inches of snow - the second most for any of the inaugurations. The snow had ended before the oath of office was to take place, but the winds were gusting out of the northwest and the noontime temperature was just 22 degrees F. Amazingly, an estimated 1 million people were able to bear the elements and watch the traditional inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. Not surprisingly, the throngs of people and the snow covered streets combined to produce the biggest traffic jams of any inauguration.

So which presidents took the oath of office indoors due to inclement weather? The answer is James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, William Taft, and Ronald Reagan. The ceremonies for each were held inside the Capitol. At Reagan's second inauguration in 1985, the brutally cold temperatures and wind chills of -20 were just too dangerous to hold outdoor ceremonies. Reagan agreed to take the oath of office indoors, and the outdoor parade and other festivities were cancelled. However, Reagan didn't want to disappoint all of the marchers who had rehearsed and practiced for the parade, so it was decided that it would take place in a nearby athletic arena. For Taft's inauguration, it was the near blinding snow that forced him to take the oath of office indoors. Although, the parade went on as planned as an estimated 6,000 workers cleared tons of snow from the clogged city streets. In 1821, during Monroe's second inauguration, snow and cold prodded him to take the oath of office indoors. Four years later, for Adam's inauguration, it was cool and rainy, and again the oath took place inside. It seems that our earlier presidents, as well as being among the wisest, also had the most common sense. Adams and Monroe knew not to stay outside in the pouring rain, and the first four presidents didn't worry about the weather at all.