Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Weather History

For fans of parades and big balloons, the 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade might be the most important of the year.

Luckily for fans of the event, there were no storms that the event couldn’t weather.

In fact, the parade was never canceled because of the weather. The only years without a parade since its start in 1924 were during World War II.

But that doesn’t mean the forecast doesn’t have an impact on planning the big day, especially when it comes to whether or not the iconic balloons will defy gravity at the event.

In 1997, strong winds with gusts over 40 miles per hour made it impossible to control the balloons, which were up to six stories high.

The Barney and Pink Panther balloons had to be punctured and trampled by police to deflate them. The Cat in the Hat balloon crashed into a light pole with such force that debris fell on spectators and left a woman in a coma for 24 days after the impact.

Strong winds in New York City are actually amplified by the “Venturi Effect,” when wind is compressed through New York City streets and between tall buildings.

(MORE: How the weather affects the Macy’s Parade)

In 1998, following the previous year’s events, the city adopted policies prohibiting balloons from flying when there are sustained winds over 23 mph (37 km/h) or gusts over 35 mph (56 km/h).

Notable parade weather in recent years:

The coldest parade took place in 2018, when the temperature in Central Park dropped to 17 degrees on the morning of the parade. That was the second coldest Thanksgiving low temperature on record.

The cold was so bitter that some musicians in the brass bands had difficulty playing, although Kelly Clarkson still brought the “heat” with a live performance of her hit.

On the bright side, the warmest parade in 1933 had a daily high of 69 degrees. That may have been more pleasant for participants and spectators, but it may have been a disappointment for anyone thinking about Santa’s arrival at the end of the parade to kick off the Christmas season.

In 1989, parade-goers were invited to the first White Thanksgiving in New York City in 51 years. The night before the parade, it began to snow lightly in New York, and by midday there was over 4 inches of snow in Central Park.

Nevertheless, 1.8 million spectators and demonstrators came to the parade.

Snow was also a significant part of the day in 1938, when 3.9 inches of snowfall was recorded. Aside from those two years, Thanksgiving never saw more than 0.1 inches of snow fall during the parade, so it’s a pretty rare and magical sight.

Some on this parade are doing well:

Rain is slightly more common, and the record for heaviest Thanksgiving rain was set in 2006, when 1.72 inches of rain fell over the course of the day, some of which fell on the parade itself.

The gusty winds required the balloons to fly much closer to the ground than usual, and they were only able to fly because the strong, sustained winds, which reached a maximum speed of 24 miles per hour that day (gusts peaked at 35), diminished miles per hour).

Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist at Weather.com and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgia Tech in earth and atmospheric sciences and a master’s degree from Unity Environmental University in marine sciences.