By: By Eric Zerkel
Published: November 27,2013
On Thursday morning, conditions in New York City will include high winds and freezing temperatures that threaten to derail the balloons from taking to the skies for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Thursday Morning Wind Forecast
City rules dictate that the giant balloons that characterize the parade can't take flight if sustained winds exceed 23 mph, or gusts exceed 34 mph, according to CBS2 New York.
(WATCH: Thanksgiving Travel Forecast)
High winds pose an obvious risk for the larger than life balloons — the tallest of which reaches 5 stories — their handlers, and the thousands of spectators lining the streets. In 1993, high winds blew a Sonic the Hedgehog balloon and a dinosaur balloon into lampposts, causing damage, Metro New York reports. High winds during the 2005 edition of the parade sent the M&M's balloons careening out of control before they snagged a light post, injuring two.
But the most serious incident occurred in 1997, when 43 mph winds caused the Cat in the Hat balloon to careen into a lamppost, jarring loose a metal fragment that collided with a woman's head, resulting in life-threatening injuries, according to CBS2. That incident sparked the current city regulations.
Balloons have only been grounded once in the parade's 87-year history, when bad weather kept them from flying in 1971. They're set to be inflated in Manhattan on Wednesday evening.
Macy's organizers say that they will monitor the conditions on Thursday morning before making a determination on whether or not to unleash the parade's biggest floats.
“At this time, it is too early to make any determinations on the flight of the giant balloons,” a Macy's spokesperson told Metro New York.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report
MORE: Vintage Thanksgiving Day Parade
November 1961: Onlookers excited and amused by
the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York as it nears Times Square.
(William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images)
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