Forecasters say Parade weather to be cloudy; balloons likely to fly
A balloon handler measures wind speed during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Credit: Sipa USA via AP/Ron Adar / SOPA Images
Thanksgiving festivities will most likely take place under grey skies this year, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
Earlier in the week, the NWS suggested a winter storm could be moving through just in time to foul up plans for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as holiday travel, but the forecast now is for milder weather.
Forecasters are predicting cloudy skies for Thursday in New York City and on Long Island, and a 60% chance of rain, though probably not until after 1 p.m., when the parade will have finished. The high temperature in the area will be in the low 50s.
Spectators at the parade, which starts at 77th Street and Central Park West and ends at Herald Square, can expect a breezy day — with winds at 15-20 mph — but not so windy as to imperil the parade balloons.
The city mandates that the iconic balloons cannot fly if sustained winds exceed 23 mph and isolated gusts exceed 34 mph. Those rules were implemented after the 1997 parade, when a Cat in the Hat balloon buffeted by strong winds toppled a lamppost, severely injuring several spectators.
The NYPD has promised to be out in full force at the parade. At a security briefing Friday, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said, "We have assets that you’ll see out there and assets that you won’t see," according to published reports. "We will be highly visible and ready to go," Maddrey said.
After the parade and the holiday feasts, temperatures on Long Island will drop to about 35.
On Friday there’s a 30% chance of rain; by late Friday and into Saturday there’s a small chance of snow mixed with rain on eastern Long Island, Joe Pollina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, told Newsday.
Saturday is expected to be mostly sunny, with a high of 41.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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