Two iconic celebrations to ring in the New Year \u2014 the Rose Parade in Southern California and the midnight ball drop in New York City \u2014 are in for some rough weather.<\/p>\n
Marching bands, floats and throngs of spectators<\/a> are bracing for a rare dose of New Year\u2019s Day rain and even thunder at the prestigious Rose Parade<\/a> in Pasadena. Across the country, in New York City, hats and gloves were as necessary as noisemakers Wednesday for what could be the coldest ball drop<\/a> in many years.<\/p>\n Rain forecasts for the 137th Rose Parade, which has been dry for 20 years, have grown all week.<\/p>\n “It’s looking like a wet one,\u201d AccuWeather meteorologist John Feerick said. \u201cIt may not be raining the whole time. There could be some pretty good downpours. A rumble of thunder or two is not out of the question.”<\/p>\n People were allowed to show up Wednesday to secure spots along the nearly 6-mile (10-kilometer) route in Pasadena, but predictions of overnight rain could make the wait miserable. The two-hour parade starts at 8 a.m. Thursday and is typically attended by hundreds of thousands of people, in addition to millions more watching on national television.<\/p>\n Organizers are making only small changes, said Candy Carlson, communications director for Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the group that organizes the parade ahead of the Rose Bowl college football game.<\/p>\n The tops will be up on convertibles carrying grand marshal Earvin \u201cMagic” Johnson and other VIPs, she said.<\/p>\n In New York City, forecasters predict temperatures in the low 30s Fahrenheit (around zero degrees Celsius) amid snow flurries when hundreds of thousands of people witness the ball drop in Times Square<\/a> on New Year\u2019s Eve. <\/p>\n The midnight temperature in New York could be “the coldest since the cusp of 2017 and 2018,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said.<\/p>\n