Rained 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. The mercury stood 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 appeared to be the coldest in 10 years.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered along the nearly six-mile (10-kilometer) route in Pasadena, where the two-hour parade kicked off. Millions more watched on national television. Organizers at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses made only small changes to accommodate the weather, such as the tops being up on convertibles carrying grand marshal Earvin “Magic” Johnson and other VIPs.
Rain forecasts for the Rose Parade, which had been dry for 20 years, grew all week. 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 the areas hit hardest by last year’s devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires were under evacuation warnings. 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, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
