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Strong winds may ground Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons
That’s deflating news.
Gusty winds forecast for the city on Thursday may ground the popular giant balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“It looks shaky for the balloons,” said Accuweather senior meteorologist Steve Wistar.
Wistar said a strong cold front will pass through the area Wednesday evening, setting up the stage for howling winds and cool conditions on Thanksgiving.
Sustained winds over 23 mph and gusts surpassing 34 mph would, under city regulations, cancel the large inflatables.
Thursday’s anticipated conditions will be flirting with those thresholds, with sustained winds of 12 to 25 mph and peak gusts up to 40 mph, Sistar said.
Although windy, paradegoers are expected to be greeted with sunny, albeit chilly, conditions. Temperatures will remain in the 40s for the entirety of the parade.
If Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons are nixed, it would be the first time the city has grounded them since 1971.
The regulations were put in place in 1998 — a year after a woman was left in a coma when a powerful gust of wind caused the Cat in the Hat balloon to strike a streetlight, which fell and hit her head.
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