It's been windy here the last two days - I believe the wind restriction for the parade was 20 - 25 mph - over that and the balloons were supposed to not be a part of the parade. As of last night, winds were predicted to be from 20 - 30 mph today. It's still unclear of wind was a major factor in this development.
A giant balloon at the Thanksgiving parade snagged a street light near Times Square and caused part of it to fall into the crowd, injuring at least one person, according to police and eyewitness accounts.
The circumstances and the extent of the injuries were not immediately known, said Detective Mindy Diaz of the New York Police Department.
A reporter from WINS-AM radio on the scene of the accident said part of the damaged light fixture crashed to the ground on a traffic island after being hit by a balloon shaped like an M&M.
more on the wind here
The National Weather Service is predicting 15 to 20 mile per hour winds for this morning with gusts up to 30 mph.
Parade officials have had to be careful about the weather since 1997, when the wind blew a Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost, severely injuring a spectator.
stories via Drudge
Didn't really get to see much of the parade on television. I only saw Big Bird and Scooby-Doo. Hope it wasn't one them... Imagine how traumatic that would be for the young children there.... Big Bird attacks crowd!!! lol ;-)
Posted by: donnaanna | Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 02:31 PM