Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade faces cold rain for 100th anniversary

This year will mark the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Despite the threat of a winter storm in the Northeast on Thursday, preparations are well underway to continue the holiday tradition again this year.

The FOX Forecast Center said a Thanksgiving Day storm will bring rain for the entirety of the parade with some pockets of heavy downpours.

While rain is expected across the region on Thursday, the winds won’t start to pick up until later on Thursday afternoon.

The FOX Forecast Center said rain totals on Thursday are likely to be anywhere from a half-inch to an inch but should fall over the course of 6-12 hours.

The balloons featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade are massive, and wind plays a critical role in parage logistics and safety measures.

The FOX Forecast Center expects winds of about 10-20 mph with some higher gusts.

And that’s good news for those hoping to catch a glimpse of the balloons floating above the streets of New York.

Winds of that strength may not seem like much, but controlling the balloons can become much more difficult as winds increase.

The iconic balloons can’t fly if sustained winds reach 23 mph and/or if gusts reach 34 mph.

So far, it looks like the winds will stay below those thresholds.

In 1997, winds tossed a balloon into a lamppost, causing it to crash to the ground and injuring a bystander.

During the same parade, another balloon tore and deflated onto the street.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the second oldest in the country. 

Philadelphia’s parade is celebrating 105 years on Thursday.