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| Big Balloons at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Might Be Grounded (Sorry, Kids!) | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Astronaut Snoopy might not be cleared for take off. The famously buoyant SpongeBob SquarePants could wind up deflated and depressed. Olaf, the garrulous snowman from “Frozen,” could find himself melting into a heaping puddle on the pavement. | Astronaut Snoopy might not be cleared for take off. The famously buoyant SpongeBob SquarePants could wind up deflated and depressed. Olaf, the garrulous snowman from “Frozen,” could find himself melting into a heaping puddle on the pavement. |
| If the forecast for high winds holds, the most famous balloons in America, which float over Manhattan every Thanksgiving in the annual Macy’s parade, might get grounded this year. | If the forecast for high winds holds, the most famous balloons in America, which float over Manhattan every Thanksgiving in the annual Macy’s parade, might get grounded this year. |
| (Sorry, kids! There’s always Disney Plus.) | (Sorry, kids! There’s always Disney Plus.) |
| Character balloons have been a staple of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1927. But as the holiday approaches, meteorologists are forecasting heavy winds and strong gusts that could keep the parade’s big balloons from taking flight. | Character balloons have been a staple of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1927. But as the holiday approaches, meteorologists are forecasting heavy winds and strong gusts that could keep the parade’s big balloons from taking flight. |
| The final decision on whether the parade’s 16 giant balloons get pulled from the lineup won’t be made until Thursday morning, officials said. They cautioned that it was still too early to know whether the balloons would be aloft for the event’s 9 a.m. start. | The final decision on whether the parade’s 16 giant balloons get pulled from the lineup won’t be made until Thursday morning, officials said. They cautioned that it was still too early to know whether the balloons would be aloft for the event’s 9 a.m. start. |
| According to city regulations, the balloons cannot fly if there are sustained winds above 23 miles per hour or if gusts exceed 34 m.p.h. As of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service was predicting that Thanksgiving Day would bring winds of up to 25 m.p.h, with gusts of up to 38 m.p.h. | According to city regulations, the balloons cannot fly if there are sustained winds above 23 miles per hour or if gusts exceed 34 m.p.h. As of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service was predicting that Thanksgiving Day would bring winds of up to 25 m.p.h, with gusts of up to 38 m.p.h. |
| Macy’s also has a licensed meteorologist on site every year to observe conditions, monitor winds and help make the decision about the floating characters in each year’s celebration. | Macy’s also has a licensed meteorologist on site every year to observe conditions, monitor winds and help make the decision about the floating characters in each year’s celebration. |
| “We are always attuned to weather conditions for Parade Day,” Orlando Veras, a Macy’s spokesman, said in a statement. “We monitor the weather on a daily basis, but at this time, it is too early to make any determinations.” | “We are always attuned to weather conditions for Parade Day,” Orlando Veras, a Macy’s spokesman, said in a statement. “We monitor the weather on a daily basis, but at this time, it is too early to make any determinations.” |
| If the giant balloons are grounded, he added, it would be only the second time in the history of the Macy’s parade that they were forbidden from taking flight. The first was in 1971, when a cold, wet and windy Thanksgiving kept the balloons on the ground. | If the giant balloons are grounded, he added, it would be only the second time in the history of the Macy’s parade that they were forbidden from taking flight. The first was in 1971, when a cold, wet and windy Thanksgiving kept the balloons on the ground. |
| New York City’s balloon regulations came after an accident during the parade in 1997, when strong winds swept the giant Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost. Part of the lamppost broke off and fell onto parade spectators, injuring four, including a 33-year-old woman who suffered a serious head injury and spent nearly a month in a coma. | New York City’s balloon regulations came after an accident during the parade in 1997, when strong winds swept the giant Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost. Part of the lamppost broke off and fell onto parade spectators, injuring four, including a 33-year-old woman who suffered a serious head injury and spent nearly a month in a coma. |
| The accident led city officials to enact stricter guidelines for the use of gargantuan balloons during high winds. | The accident led city officials to enact stricter guidelines for the use of gargantuan balloons during high winds. |
| Even if the giant balloons are pulled, the parade will go on. Macy’s still plans to bring out its smaller inflatables, the themed floats will sail down the street and Broadway performers, musicians and marching bands from across the country will still serenade the assembled crowds. | Even if the giant balloons are pulled, the parade will go on. Macy’s still plans to bring out its smaller inflatables, the themed floats will sail down the street and Broadway performers, musicians and marching bands from across the country will still serenade the assembled crowds. |
| More than three million New Yorkers and visitors hit the streets of Manhattan to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, officials said, with tens of millions expected to watch it televised on NBC. | More than three million New Yorkers and visitors hit the streets of Manhattan to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, officials said, with tens of millions expected to watch it televised on NBC. |