NYPD to Make Call on if Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons Will Fly

Thanksgiving officially kicks off on Thursday, and for many, a staple of the holiday is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The decades-old event features a menagerie of beloved characters from all across the pop-culture world, both in balloons and in epic floats. But thanks to the weather forecast going into the day, it sounds like one iconic element of the parade might be in jeopardy. According to a new report from CBS New York, high winds that have been blowing throughout the midwest and the east coast could impact whether or not Macy’s balloons fly, but the New York Police Department will ultimately make a decision about it on Thursday morning.

“These sergeants are well trained to read the anemometers to identify the height of where we can allow the balloons to go up,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison told reporters. “The balloons can actually go up to 55 feet in height, but if it comes to a situation where there is a public safety we will bring them down to ten feet.”

According to the report, the NYPD will use weather instruments placed along the route to judge the wind conditions and work closely with parade officials to make the call. The balloons also reportedly cannot fly when sustained winds are over 23 mph, with gusts over 34 mph.

The apprehension is definitely understandable, as the parade has a bit of a history of balloons falling apart or going astray while on the route. The most tragic example occurred in 1997 when four people were injured when a six-story-tall Cat in the Hat balloon collided with a light pole. This led to one spending a month in a coma.

Reportedly, some of the parade’s newest balloons were recently given a test run, so that crews could better determine how to brave conditions.

“That gives the pilot an opportunity to see – depending on what the wind pattern would be – where they need to place their handlers or have them raise up or pull down,” John Piper, vice president of production for Macy’s Parade Studio, revealed.

If the parade balloons do get a chance to fly, audiences will be treated to characters including Diary of A Wimpy Kid, Sinclair Oil’s DINO, The Elf on the Shelf, Goku, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch from his most recent animated feature film, Jett by Super Wings, Olaf from Disney’s Frozen 2, PAW Patrol’s Chase, plus Pikachu, The Pillsbury Doughboy, The Red Ranger, Ronald McDonald, and Trolls.

(Photo by Gotham/FilmMagic)