The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade might be a little different for 2013. The popular balloons may be grounded due to high winds.
About 16 balloons, including Snoopy, SpongeBob SquarePants and the Toothles dragon, may not fly in this year's parade on Thursday. If winds exceed 23 mph and gusts exceed 34 mph, it will be to unsafe to let the balloons fly and high winds are expected for Thursday. It will be in the low 30s and winds of at least 15-20 mph are in the forecast with gusts reaching up to 40 mph, the Associated Press reports.
"We are closely monitoring the weather as we do each year," Macy's spokeswoman Holly Thomas told the Associated Press. "On Thanksgiving morning, Macy's works closely with the NYPD, who, based on real time weather data and the official regulations determine if the balloons will fly and at what heights."
The balloons were only grounded once in the parade's 87 years. Poor weather kept the balloons grounded in 1971.
Parade organizers take safety seriously after a 1997 incident in which winds caused a Cat in the Hat balloon to fly into a pole, which hit a women, leaving her in a coma for a month. In 2005,an M&M balloon hit a streetlight which injured two sisters.
Following the 1997 incident, Macy's reviewed its safety measures and the win guidelines were put into place. After the 2005 incident, Macy's once again updated its rules to ensure that weather is monitored at different heights along the parade route.
Weather isn't the only issue for this year's parade. Two floats are causing quite the controversy. One is a SeaWorld float which has two 27-foot orca statues. Animal rights activists don't want the float to be in the parade because they say SeaWorld mistreats the animals.
Ranchers are upset that singer Joan Jett is supposed to perform on a South Dakota tourism float. They claim that Jett isn't a good representative for the beef-producing state as she is a vegetarian and animal rights activist.
In addition to the possible weather issues for tomorrow, controversy is swirling around two floats. Jett will still be in the parade but not on the float.
Even if the balloons won't fly, they will still be inflated on Wednesday on the Upper West Side in Manhattan.
If the balloons don't fly, millions can still enjoy watching 30 full-size floats, 11 marching bands, 900 clowns and 1,600 cheerleaders and dancers.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
