Winds threaten to ravage Macy's Thanksgiving parade

Wrap up, Bob sponge.

Macy's grand parade of Thanksgiving in New York will take place in cold, cold winds that could eventually anchor giant balloons, which have already caused accidents and injuries when gusts chased them.

The police service monitors the wind indicators along the parade route and orders the 16 helium inflated balloons to descend to a lower altitude or remove them completely if the wind speed reaches dangerous levels.

New York City issued an extreme cold alert on Thursday and urged everyone on the road to wear hats, scarves, gloves and overcoats and to cover their fingers, ears and noses to avoid frostbite.

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"Prepare for an incredible show, but put all the layers of your home, wear all the gloves, all the scarves, all the handwarmers, all you have, you will need it tomorrow," said the mayor Bill of Blasio told the crowds gathered to watch the balloons of the parade being inflated. "I want to tell everyone that he is ready to enjoy it but that I recognize that it will be really cold."

The National Weather Service predicts temperatures in low 20 and sustained winds of up to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

The iconic characters that rise between Manhattan's skyscrapers will be anchored if sustained winds exceed 23mph and gusts above 34mph, according to city rules enforced after the wind has propelled a "Cat in the Hat" balloon in a lamppost near Central Park, seriously wounding a woman.

"If we have to make a voice heard the same day and make an adjustment, we will do it," said patrol leader Rodney Harrison at a police department parade security briefing.

In addition to the giant balloons of Charlie Brown, The Grinch and others, the parade includes about 8,000 marchers, performances of singers such as Diana Ross, John Legend and Martina McBride, two dozen tanks and a final with the Santa Claus.

The New York police will have thousands of officers stationed along the parade route. They include counterterrorism teams with shoulder guns, plainclothes officers mingled with the crowd and a new K-9 team capable of detecting explosives at a hundred meters.

Franky, a 6 year old German Shepherd, and three other Explosive Odor Hunting Dogs are holding their first Thanksgiving Parade, after impressing the police during a trial in New York last winter. They will remain in service even if the weather gets too hard for their resemblance to a giant balloon: Chase, the police dog of the "patrol" of Nickelodeon.

All spectators will be controlled by metal detectors at security checkpoints. Backpacks, alcoholic beverages and electronic cigarettes are prohibited. Some areas near the beginning and the end are prohibited or will have a place occupied by the staging of the live broadcast of NBC.

Police cars and sand-filled sanitation trucks are in a position to prevent vehicles from circulating in the crowd, and new technology is being used to detect drones, which are illegal to fly over crowds in New York.

Federal rules now allow police to "take action" against drones, but that does not mean the police will shoot them, said the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Countering Terrorism, John Miller.

"Our job is to provide maximum protection against any incident during the parade, but also to make sure we do not protect it to the point that it's not fun," said Miller. "Our employees will be as accommodating as possible and will ensure that people see them, feel safe, but that they enjoy themselves."

Commissioner James O'Neill has reported no credible threat to the city or the parade. He warned viewers to be vigilant following the recent mass shootings and bombs and to warn police officers that they suspected something was wrong.

Large crowds are expected along the road, which runs 46 blocks from the suburbs of Central Park to Macy's flagship store in downtown Manhattan.

In addition to the giant balloons of Charlie Brown, The Grinch and others, the parade brings together about 8,000 marchers, including high school groups and pop singers, as well as two dozen floats, culminating with the arrival of Santa Claus. .

Spectators lined up to 15 times in some places last year, and four activists briefly disrupted the situation by jumping over barriers and sitting in the street to protest the changes in policy. immigration from the United States.

In recent years, however, the wind has been the biggest threat.

In 2005, eight years after "Cat and Hat" escaped, an M & Ms balloon crashed into a streetlight in Times Square, causing cuts and bruises to a woman in a wheelchair. his sister, 11 years old.

Last year, a burst by an otherwise calm day sent a smaller balloon into a tree branch. This one jumped and fell safely on the crowd.

Backstage at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York