For the first time in 20 years, it is expected to rain on the Rose Parade.
The January 1 procession almost always takes place during a mid-winter heat wave and clear blue skies, an advertisement for life in Southern California broadcast to a frozen nation. The statistics bear it out: it has only rained 10 times in the parade’s 136-year history.
This is not the case for this episode.
The region’s current windy conditions will give way to rain midweek, with the National Weather Service calling for “periods of light to moderate rain” beginning Wednesday or Wednesday evening (New Year’s Eve) and continuing through Saturday. Forecasters estimate about 1 to 3 inches of rain is possible by the end of the week in coastal areas and valleys, with 2 to 5 inches possible in the mountains. This is in addition to the 5 to 10 inches seen in many areas of the Southland last week.
If the forecasts are confirmed, it will be the first time that it has rained on the floral procession since 2006.
Since these storms have saturated the ground in many areas, including Pasadena, officials are again warning of possible mudslides and debris from the upcoming rains.
Parade officials say they are prepared for the deluge, since virtually all Pasadena city employees work on New Year’s Day. This includes tow trucks ready to remove stuck floats. (In 2006, the city floats of Burbank and Sierra Madre, Disney and Trader Joe’s broke down.)
An estimated 800,000 people lined the streets for the event last year. The City of Pasadena issued a reminder today that “umbrellas are not permitted along the parade route because they block the view of others.”
Additionally, road closures will be in effect, according to Pasadena Transit:
In New York, routes 10, 20, 33, 40, 51/52 and 53 will detour from 6 p.m. until the end of service (8 p.m.) to avoid Old Pasadena. Rt 51/52 will detour all day to avoid the Rose Bowl area. On New Year’s Day, Rt 33 will detour from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
According to The Weather Channel, there is a 77% chance of rain in Pasadena on New Year’s Eve and a 98% chance on New Year’s Day, increasing the possibility of a soggy Rose Parade.
NWS forecasters said people heading to the parade should expect to get wet. “The chances of the New Year’s Day parade being wet, including the evening before when people are out before the parade, are extremely high,” forecasters said in a statement Monday afternoon.
The Rose Parade will be broadcast live locally on KTLA. Leeza Gibbons and Mark Steines return as co-hosts, with KTLA 5 Morning News anchor Chris Schauble reporting from the parade route. Live coverage will begin at 6 a.m. PT.
Magic Johnson is this year’s grand marshal.
The parade will also be broadcast in its entirety on eight platforms: Christmas Plus, Dooya, FanDuel Sports Network, Fubo Sports Network, GFam+, Great American Pure Flix, Pluto TV and Samsung TV Plus. The live stream will include each of the 85 floats as they travel the five-and-a-half mile parade route.
After the parade, the 112th game of the Rose Bowl will see the No. 1 seed Indiana University Hoosiers (13-0) take on the No. 9 seed Alabama Crimson Tide (11-3). It will air at 1 p.m. PT on ESPN.
City News Service contributed to this report.
