If you looked forward to the balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade this year, you might be in for a sad surprise. Thanksgiving Day is gearing up for some pretty rough weather, and this could result in the parade floats being grounded on the holiday.
Depending on the strength of the wind, it could be a sad Thanksgiving parade without any of the iconic character balloons.
New York City has ordnances against flying large balloons during rough weather conditions. If gusts exceed 34 mph and sustained winds are above 23 mph, the city won’t allow any balloons to take to the skies. This ordinance went into effect in 1997, when a Cat in the Hat balloon got loose, knocked over a lamp post and injured four people.
One person was so injured, in fact, that they slipped into a coma and spent three weeks in the hospital. Another incident, in 2005, involved one of the character balloons running into two people and knocking them both to the pavement. While we love the big character balloons, they’re hardly worth anyone getting hurt.
As such, it’s likely that the balloons will stay grounded on Thanksgiving Day in order to keep people in NYC safe.
The weather forecast for Thanksgiving Day isn’t promising for the floats. According to the National Weather Service, New York is likely to see sustained winds at 22 mph and gusts at 39 mph. This means it’s quite likely the floats will stay grounded throughout the day on Thursday.
“Winds this strong will be a safety concern for balloon handlers and spectators along the parade route,” stated an AccuWeather meteorologist.
However, the final determination as to whether to fly the balloons will be made on Thursday morning before the parade’s scheduled start time. If something changes in the forecast or the weather seems particularly mild that morning, the balloons could still fly. The NYPD will have the final say in whether the balloons fly, and how high they can go if they do.
Hopefully, the weather conditions are cooperative so everyone can see their favorite characters flying high through NYC!
