Forecasters: Rain likely for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Throngs of marchers and onlookers may be facing a soggy Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade through the streets of Manhattan Thursday.

The chance of rain stands at 90% through the day for Long Island and New York City, dropping to between 60 and 70% by the evening, according to the National Weather Service's latest forecast Monday afternoon.

The rain could begin as early as Wednesday night or slightly before daybreak Thursday and continue all day, conditions that could also spell difficulty on the roads and at airports on the big travel holiday. Thursday's high temperature is forecast to be about 50 degrees, dipping to close to 40 in the evening.

The weather service said between ½ to a ¾ of an inch of rain is forecast before mostly sunny skies return Friday when the high will reach the mid-to-high 40s with an evening low just above freezing.

But there is also confidence the iconic parade balloons will fly. Brian Ciemnecki, a meteorologist with the weather service's Upton office, said winds out of the northeast are expected to top out about 10 mph, well under the parameters set for the balloons to safely make it down the parade route.

The balloons are banned from the parade when sustained winds above 23 mph are reported, or if gusts exceed 34 mph. Powerful gusts knocked a Cat in the Hat balloon into a streetlight in 1997. Four people were injured when part of the light broke off and fell on spectators. An M&M's balloon crashed into a Times Square light pole in 2005, injuring two people.

Friday's sunny, dry weather is forecast to return Saturday and Sunday, when the high both days will also be in the 40s. The low Friday evening will drop to 30. Saturday and Sunday's evening lows will drop to between 25 and 27, according to the weather service.