Pope Francis' US Visit Forecast: Dry Weather to Keep Tight Schedule in Check

By Katy Galimberti, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

September 19,2015; 1:00AM,EDT

 

 

Three major cities and hundreds of thousands of people are anticipating the arrival of Pope Francis in the United States.
As part of his tour, the pope will make stops in Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia. The pope will meet with President Obama, Congress, various churches and schools as well as make other public appearances.
Pope Francis will touch down on U.S. soil on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Washington, D.C., as his tour begins.
In all three cities, tickets for public masses, papal parades and even public transportation were highly coveted.
JUMP TO: Washington, D.C. Visit Forecast | New York City Visit Forecast | Philadelphia Visit Forecast
Pope Francis greets faithful during an audience to Parish groups promoting evangelization, in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
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Washington, D.C., Sept. 22-24
Pope Francis will arrive in the nation's capital on Tuesday to potentially cloudy skies and an overall damp day.
As he begins his official schedule filled with events and visits on Wednesday, some clouds could linger. However, daytime highs will hover near the 80-degree Fahrenheit mark, slightly higher than normal for this time of year.
"That'll be the start of a drying trend for D.C.," AccuWeather Meteorologist Krissy Pydynowski said.

After meeting with President Obama Wednesday morning, the pope will travel in the Popemobile along the Ellipse and National Mall.
More than 200,000 are expected to cram the streets in hope for a view of the pope.
Skies should stay dry as the pope travels to New York City on Wednesday evening from Joint Base Andrews.
New York City, Sept. 24-25
Flying to John F. Kennedy airport, the pope shouldn't need to deal with any travel-delaying weather on Wednesday night as he journeys to New York City. Upon arrival, Pope Francis will travel to St. Patrick's Cathedral for an Evening Prayer.
For his only full day in the city, the Pope will meet with the United Nations General Assembly on Friday morning, where he is expected to discuss climate change as a pressing issue facing humanity.
With high pressure sitting over the region, Friday is shaping up to be a dry day, Pydynowski said.

Pope Francis will tour the 9/11 Memorial and Museum following the U.N. meeting, before heading to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem.
"A push of cooler air may arrive in time enough to knock high temperatures back down into the lower 70s on Friday after a warm Thursday, and those cooler conditions may turn out to be beneficial for everyone packed together to see the pope," Pydynowski said.
"If that cool push holds off until the weekend, it might be uncomfortably warm for those packed together," she said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said 80,000 New Yorkers will attend the pope's procession through Central Park on Friday evening.
In order to accommodate the influx of travelers in the city, de Blasio also said there will be an increased number of trains and buses running during the pope's visit. Still, riders are encouraged to provide plenty of time for travel.
Pope Francis will wrap up his time in New York with a mass at Madison Square Garden on Friday evening. Tickets for the mass were highly coveted, and city officials encourage those without tickets to avoid the area.
Philadelphia, Sept. 26-27
The pope will return to JFK Saturday morning to fly to his last U.S. city, Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love will host the most public appearances and events on Pope Francis' U.S. tour.
After flying into Philadelphia International Airport shortly at approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT, the pope will conduct mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Dry weather will make for easy air travel for the pope and prevent any delays in scheduling.
After taking a visit to Independence Hall at 4:45 p.m. EDT, the pope will travel to the Festival of Families at Benjamin Franklin Parkway and hold a Prayer Vigil with World Meeting of Families (WMOF) at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
The WMOF is the world's largest meeting of Catholic Families, held once every three years. Hundreds of thousands are expected to be in attendance as Philadelphia celebrates Francis Festival. Philadelphia is offering areas for both ticket holders and non-ticket holders.
Temperatures will reach into the mid-70s on Saturday, which is near normal for this time of year.
Skies will stay dry with a mix of sun and clouds for the entirety of the weekend.
While weather will not put any travel in jeopardy, the city has limited public transportation use to special pass holders only.

The dry and cool conditions will stretch into Sunday as the pope wraps up his visit to the U.S.
Reinforcing cool air will hold strong over the area during the pope's visit, making for more comfortable conditions for people packed together on city streets.
"Temperatures will fail to break out of the 60s on Sunday," Pydynowski said. "It'll feel like a taste of mid-October."
Following meetings with Bishops at St. Martin's Chapel, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Sunday morning, the pope will visit the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility north of Center City.
Pope Francis will say mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday after a papal parade. The pope will ride up and down the Ben Franklin Parkway and around City Hall as part of the papal parade.
After the mass, the pope's final appearance will be with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of the WMOF at Atlantic Aviation.
For his 8 p.m. EDT departure to Rome on Sunday, dry conditions should prevent any delays out of Philadelphia. While a storm might shape up in southern Italy, the pope's flight to Rome should be unaffected.