Rainy red carpet forecast for Sunday’s Academy Awards
Rain is expected to make an unwelcome appearance on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday.
About a tenth of an inch is forecast to fall over the Los Angeles area, including Hollywood, where the Academy Awards will be presented at the Dolby Theatre.
“We’re not expecting it to be particularly heavy,” said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “It’s just coming at the wrong time.”
The morning will start off with the possibility of light rain, and the chances will increase as the day goes on, she said. By late afternoon and through the evening, when the awards start, there will be a 60% to 70% chance of showers.
The storm is expected to cause snow levels to drop down to 3,500 to 4,000 feet on Sunday, and then to 2,500 feet by Monday morning.
Get the latest on the Oscar winners, the best-dressed and behind-the-scenes action from L.A. Times journalists inside and outside the Academy Awards.
It’s also forecast to be on the chilly side, with a high of about 60 degrees on Sunday and temperatures in the mid- to upper 50s around red carpet time.
The rain is expected to clear up by Monday, though showers could linger in the mountain areas, Hoxsie said.
Rain isn’t terribly unusual during the Oscars, having fallen on 18 of the 91 Academy Awards ceremonies, most recently in 2017.
In the past, crews have used vacuums and squeegees to dry off the carpet and umbrellas to shield stars from the elements as they usher them into the event.
February is usually the wettest month of the year in California. But, at least until late in the month, the state will have below-normal precipitation.
In addition to the expected showers, those visiting Hollywood this weekend will encounter street and sidewalk closures because of the awards ceremony.
Hollywood Boulevard has been closed between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive since Feb. 2 and will reopen at 6 a.m. Wednesday. Metro trains will bypass the Hollywood and Highland station after the last scheduled train Saturday night, and service to the station will resume at 6 a.m. Monday.
More closures will take effect overnight until most of the streets in the area surrounding the theater are shut down. A full list of street closures and a map is available on the Academy Awards website.
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