New Years resolutions may be about quitting bad habits cold turkey, but this Thanksgiving will be all about eating turkey while feeling very, very cold.
Thursday will be the coldest Thanksgiving in a century for many states, leaving the beloved Macy’s Parade at risk and bringing misery to millions of travelers.
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC are bracing for a bitterly cold holiday as temperatures drop 15 to 30 degrees below average.
Subzero wind chills are also expected to blast the area, making it feel even colder.
Forecasters have warned those who are attending New York’s famous parade, or even traditional football games, to bundle up and protect themselves from potential hypothermia and frostbite.
Thursday will be the coldest Thanksgiving in a century for many states, leaving the beloved Macy’s Parade at risk. Pictured is a parade balloon on Inflation Eve on Wednesday
It remains to be seen if Macy’s 16 large character balloons will even get to fly come Thursday morning
It remains to be seen if Macy’s 16 large character balloons will even get to fly come Thursday morning.
The New York Police Department said that the balloons will be lowered in wind gusts of 23 mph.
A police supervisor assigned to each balloon will determine if it needs to be lowered.
If gusts reach 34 mph, the balloons will have to be grounded completely.
Current forecasts predict wind gusts of up to 30 mph, as well as frigid temperatures in the low 20s.
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC are bracing for a bitterly cold holiday as temperatures drop 15 to 30 degrees below average
Subzero wind chills are also expected to blast the area, which will make it feel even colder
‘It’s going to be very close to that threshold, likely right below it,’ Accuweather senior meteorologist Dave Dombek told the New York Post.
High winds have forced the balloons to be removed from the route just once, in 1971, when wind gusts reached up to 45 mph.
Celebrities including John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, and Diana Ross, as well as 1,500 dancers, cheerleaders, and Broadway performers, will have to fight off the frigid temperatures as they perform at Thursday’s parade.
Until this year, the majority of subzero Thanksgivings occurred all the way back in the mid to late 1800s.
The New York Police Department said that the balloons will be lowered in wind gusts of 23 mph. Pictured is NYPD commissioner James O’Neill, Macys CEO Jeff Gennette, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Inflation Eve
A police supervisor assigned to each balloon will determine if it needs to be lowered during the parade on Thursday
If gusts reach 34 mph, the beloved character balloons will have to be grounded completely
Current forecasts predict wind gusts of up to 30mph and frigid temperatures in the low 20s
New York City has only experienced a couple of mornings low in the teens and high in the 20s on the fourth Thursday of November.
Boston saw its coldest Thanksgiving in 1901 with a high of 24. The same forecast is predicted for the city on Thursday.
Snow has also been forecast across some parts of Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine on Wednesday ahead of Thanksgiving.
The National Weather Service is warning that a ‘dangerous’ snow squall around Buffalo, New York could have a ‘life-threatening’ impact on those trying to travel on Wednesday.
Pictured above is a car forced off the road in Eerie, Pennsylvania on Wednesday as the town was hit by snow
Snow has also been forecast across some parts of the Northeast, including Eerie, Pennsylvania where a car had to be towed from the highway due to icy conditions
Snow was falling in Rochester, New York on Wednesday as parts of the Northeast brace for their coldest Thanksgiving in more than a century. Photo courtesy of WHEC
People wait in line to board an Amtrak train at Pennsylvania Station in New York on Wednesday as possible snow and icy winds predicted to cause travel chaos for the 54 million Americans trying to get home
Those trying to travel home ahead of the holiday are also facing difficulties in New England with the remnants of a recent snowstorm leaving messy road conditions across much of the region.
The additional forecast snow for Wednesday followed by blustery winds is expected to make it even more difficult for those drivers.
Flight delays were already piling up on Wednesday morning across the country with more than 1,700 delays and 78 cancellations.
By the end of Tuesday, 180 flights were cancelled and 3,500 flights delayed, according to tracking service FlightAware.
Meanwhile heavy rain is expected to slow traffic on Wednesday in much of California, Oregon, and Washington.
The US Department of Transportation was urging travelers to check conditions and road closures before they set off on their journey.
Traffic in Los Angeles on Tuesday night was already heavily congested on highways leading out of the city.
Flight delays were also already piling up on Wednesday morning across the country with more than 690 delays and 66 cancellations
Snow is not expected to continue across the Northeast on Thanksgiving and Black Friday due to dry air conditions.
Boston temperatures on Thursday will also not hit a high of 20 degrees.
Temperatures haven’t been this low on Thanksgiving in New York and Boston since 1901.
In the central region of the US the greatest likelihood of rain is predicted near the Texas Gulf coast, with dry weather predicted in the north-central states.
Floridians have been warned that showers may hit Wednesday or Thursday.
Travelers wait in line to go through a security checkpoint at Orlando International Airport on Wednesday
Flight delays were already piling up on Wednesday morning across the country. Pictured above is the crowd at New York’s JFK airport
Long lines were forming at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday in Chicago ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday
Roads were congested in Chicago on Tuesday as millions hit the road before Thanksgiving
Traffic in Los Angeles on Tuesday night was already heavily congested on highway leading out of the city. The US Department of Transportation was urging travelers to check conditions and road closures before they set off on their journey
In the Midwest, wintry-cold temperatures flowing across the Great Lakes are expected to generate snow for some of the areas off Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario through Wednesday.
Light snowfall is in the forecast for Northeast Ohio as well as Erie and western Upstate New York into late Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Meanwhile, rain falling on Wednesday in some areas of Northern California is expected to help aid crews fighting a deadly wildfire but also raises the risk of flash floods, which could complicate efforts to recover the remains of those killed.
Heavier rain was expected later in the day in Paradise, where a monstrous wildfire has killed at least 81 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes.
Dangerously high winds might mean the iconic balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade could be BANNED
By Keith Griffith for DailyMail.com
The threat of high winds could force police to lower or even remove the famed character balloons from this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
The NYPD will deploy seven anemometers along the parade route in Manhattan on Thursday, and says that the balloons will be lowered in wind gusts of 23mph and grounded at 34mph.
Current forecasts predict wind gusts of up to 30mph, as well as frigid temperatures in the low 20s.
‘If we have to call an audible on the day of, and make an adjustment, we’ll do so,’ Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison said at a Wednesday press conference.
‘Thirty-four mile per hour wind gusts is when we say, ‘OK, we gotta bring it all the way down to the ground’.’
New balloon Little Cloud by Friendswithyou is seen in a test flight earlier this month. Every balloon has a matrix that determines how high it can fly in a given wind speed
Harrison explained that each balloon has a matrix that determines how high it can fly depending on the wind speed.
A police supervisor assigned to each balloon will determine if it needs to be lowered.
If winds gust high enough, some or all of the balloons might be removed from the route.
The parade, a nationally televised annual tradition, is slated to feature 16 large character balloons this year, winds permitting.
The 2018 parade will also include 26 floats and 8,000 marchers, police said.
The parade has been held annually since 1924, and has featured large balloons since 1931.
High winds have forced the balloons to be removed from the route just once, in 1971, when winds gusted up to 45 miles per hour.
In 1997, high winds forced the character balloons to be carried very close to the ground, limiting the view of spectators.
Other new balloons this year include Fleck, Bjorn, JoJo and Hugg, four elves from the Netflix film The Christmas Chronicles. They are see above during testing
Police are closely monitoring wind speeds to determine whether to ground balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Olaf from Frozen (above last year) is returning this year
Even still, disaster struck. The winds pushed the Cat In The Hat balloon into a lamp post at 36th Street.
Falling debris fractured a woman’s skull, leaving her in a coma for a month.
Elsewhere on the 1997 parade route, Barney The Purple Dinosaur went rogue, weaving erratically over the crowd and striking a lamp post, ripping a hole in the balloon.
Police rushed in and helped handlers bring the half-inflated and out of control balloon down to the pavement.
As thousands of horrified children looked out, officers wielding box cutters grimly dispatched the Barney balloon.
Rules changes eliminated larger balloons from subsequent parades after the 1997 fiasco.
Injuries also occurred at the parade in 1993 and 2005, both times when balloons struck lamp posts or street lights.
This year’s parade will begin at 9am at Central Park West and 77th Street, and end at noon with the arrival of Santa Clause at the Macy’s flagship store on 34th street.