STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As Thanksgiving turkeys roast and pies bubble over, New Yorkers planning to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan should prepare for a dramatic temperature drop and blustery conditions.
While the city experienced pleasant conditions Wednesday with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees, a cold front moving through the area will bring a sharp change, according to Richard Bann, a National Weather Service meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
“Overnight temperatures will plunge to around 40 degrees by the time the parade is ready to kick off Thursday morning, with little warming expected throughout the day,” Bann said.
Temperatures will drop to 40 degrees as early as 5 a.m., dip a couple of more degrees by 8 a.m., and hover around 42 degrees by 11 a.m. before reaching 45 degrees by around 2 p.m.
The real bite will come from west to northwest winds of 10 to 20 mph, with gusts approaching 30 mph between 5 and 6 a.m. and continuing into late morning. Some gusts could reach 35 to 40 miles per hour, Bann said.
“That combination of cold air and wind will create significant wind chill,” Bann noted. With air temperatures around 40 degrees and average winds of 15 mph, the wind chill will hover near freezing at 30 to 33 degrees. During stronger gusts, it could feel closer to 25 to 30 degrees.
As the parade makes its way toward Macy’s Herald Square, air temperature may be around 40 degrees, but will feel closer to 30 degrees, Bann explained.
Rain is not expected to be a concern for parade attendees as any chance of precipitation will likely occur later on.
There is only about a 30% chance of rain in the afternoon or early evening. Patchy fog is possible, but westward-shifting winds should be able to help clear it as the day progresses.
“Paradegoers are definitely going to want to bundle up,” Bann said, “But they can probably leave the rain gear at home and focus on the festivities.”