137th Rose Parade set to kick off in Pasadena. It's likely to be soggy

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Will it rain on the Rose Parade? It sure looks that way.Will it go on anyway? You betcha.The 137th Rose Parade — an event famously established to show off Southern California’s mild winter weather — is set to kick off at 8 a.m.

Thursday in Pasadena amid a wet winter storm that could result in the first rainy parade in two decades.“There is a near 100 percent [chance] of a wet New Years Parade as well as the overnight hours leading up to it,” National Weather Service meteorologists wrote in a forecast report Tuesday.Rose Parade officials — though they would rather not jinx it — say they are prepared for a soaking.

“At the Tournament of Roses, we try not to use that word,” David Eads, the organization’s chief executive, said in a statement.“History tells us the sun usually shows up right on time.” California Rose Parade officials say they’re prepared for the rain that’s in the forecast for the New Year’s Day event.In addition to traditional television broadcasters and other web-based streaming services, this year’s parade will, for the first time, be live-streamed on TikTok via the username @rose.parade.“With this first-ever TikTok LIVE stream, we’re thrilled to invite a new generation of Parade fans to experience the magic of the Rose Parade from a fresh, creator-led lens,” Mark Leavens, president of the Tournament of Roses, said in a statement.If you’re planning to attend in person, bring a poncho.

View-blocking umbrellas are prohibited in parade grandstands and along the route.Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the City of Pasadena, said local officials are anticipating more calls for hypothermia and foot injuries from marching along the 5.5-mile route in wet socks.

Derderian said she expects an uptick in potentially dangerous warming bonfires, noting that “in the past, we’ve seen people that will throw firewood into a washing machi...