But only once in the 87-year history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has bad weather grounded the towering balloons that float through the streets of Manhattan on the holiday.
Now, a storm bearing down on the East Coast is once again placing the fate of the balloons in doubt.
The balloons can rise as high as five stories and can be difficult to control in wind.
“What we are seeing right now is that at about 7 a.m. winds will be out of the west-northwest at about 25 miles per hour but gusts could be as high as 40 miles per hour,” said Joe Picca, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “But we expect the winds to be on a downward trend as the day goes on.”
Mr. Picca noted that another challenge in forecasting winds in New York City has to do with the “canyon effect,” with the tall buildings along the parade route creating a tunnel.
After a Cat in the Hat balloon hit a lamp post at West 72nd Street and Central Park West in 1997, knocking a portion down and injuring four spectators, city officials instituted strict guidelines on when the balloons can fly.
If the wind blows at 23 m.p.h. or more and gusts reach 34 m.p.h., SpongeBob and the biggest of his inflatable brethren will be grounded.
The decision will be made by several agencies, based on weather conditions on Thanksgiving morning.
As a steady rain fell on Wednesday, workers readied for the nightlong ritual of inflating the balloons, on West 77th and West 81st Streets.
Green tarps secured with sandbags covered the pavement of 77th Street and metal barricades cut off the street.
“It says to me that balloons are flying,” said Jennifer George, 54, a designer and author who has lived on West 77th Street for 22 years.
But if the wind howls as predicted, they will not be paraded. The balloons will be unzipped and deflated, folded up right there on the Upper West Side and sent back to New Jersey.
The only time the balloons were grounded was in 1971, because of foul weather.
The parade itself was canceled for several years during World War II.
The wind rules only apply to the group of 16 giant balloons, like Pikachu and Spider-Man. The less celebrated, smaller balloons, like a baseball and a smattering of star shapes, still have a chance if the weather gets bad.
Should the biggest balloons launch, each would be assigned a police sergeant, equipped with monitors to measure the wind speed during the parade, along with the usual team of handlers. “We’ve done a lot of training on this,” said Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
Mr. Kelly, 72, himself has firsthand experience: As a teenager he manned the ropes of a giant turkey balloon while working for Macy’s, long before the wind rules were drawn up. “Those were the days when you really had to hold on,” he said.
Now, a storm bearing down on the East Coast is once again placing the fate of the balloons in doubt.
The balloons can rise as high as five stories and can be difficult to control in wind.
“What we are seeing right now is that at about 7 a.m. winds will be out of the west-northwest at about 25 miles per hour but gusts could be as high as 40 miles per hour,” said Joe Picca, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “But we expect the winds to be on a downward trend as the day goes on.”
Mr. Picca noted that another challenge in forecasting winds in New York City has to do with the “canyon effect,” with the tall buildings along the parade route creating a tunnel.
After a Cat in the Hat balloon hit a lamp post at West 72nd Street and Central Park West in 1997, knocking a portion down and injuring four spectators, city officials instituted strict guidelines on when the balloons can fly.
If the wind blows at 23 m.p.h. or more and gusts reach 34 m.p.h., SpongeBob and the biggest of his inflatable brethren will be grounded.
The decision will be made by several agencies, based on weather conditions on Thanksgiving morning.
As a steady rain fell on Wednesday, workers readied for the nightlong ritual of inflating the balloons, on West 77th and West 81st Streets.
Green tarps secured with sandbags covered the pavement of 77th Street and metal barricades cut off the street.
“It says to me that balloons are flying,” said Jennifer George, 54, a designer and author who has lived on West 77th Street for 22 years.
But if the wind howls as predicted, they will not be paraded. The balloons will be unzipped and deflated, folded up right there on the Upper West Side and sent back to New Jersey.
The only time the balloons were grounded was in 1971, because of foul weather.
The parade itself was canceled for several years during World War II.
The wind rules only apply to the group of 16 giant balloons, like Pikachu and Spider-Man. The less celebrated, smaller balloons, like a baseball and a smattering of star shapes, still have a chance if the weather gets bad.
Should the biggest balloons launch, each would be assigned a police sergeant, equipped with monitors to measure the wind speed during the parade, along with the usual team of handlers. “We’ve done a lot of training on this,” said Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
Mr. Kelly, 72, himself has firsthand experience: As a teenager he manned the ropes of a giant turkey balloon while working for Macy’s, long before the wind rules were drawn up. “Those were the days when you really had to hold on,” he said.