NYC Weather: Frigid Thanksgiving Could Feel Like 5 Degrees

NEW YORK — Those balloons better be worth it — if they show up at all. Frigid temperatures and biting winds may create misery for parade-watchers on a Thanksgiving Day that could feel as cold as five degrees, the National Weather Service says.

The mercury will only reach a high near 27 on a sunny Thursday, according to the weather service. That's barely warmer than the coldest high ever recorded on Nov. 22: 23 degrees in 1880.

The chill will be accompanied by northwest winds bringing gusts as strong as 40 MPH in the metropolitan area, driving wind chill values into the single digits by late Thursday afternoon, the weather service says.

The gales could pull the balloons out of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. City regulations bar them from operating when sustained winds break 23 MPH and gusts pass 34 MPH, parade spokesman Orlando Veras told AccuWeather.

The freezing Thanksgiving will follow a chance of scattered snow flurries Wednesday night, the weather service says. Temperatures are expected to warm up over the weekend, with highs breaking 50 on Saturday and Sunday, according to the weather service.

Here's a closer look at what to expect from the weather this holiday week, courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Tuesday
A 20 percent chance of light rain before 10am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 32. Wind chill values between 25 and 30. West wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Wind chill values between 25 and 30. Southwest wind 8 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Wednesday Night
Scattered flurries before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. Wind chill values between 5 and 15. Blustery, with a northwest wind 18 to 20 mph.

Thursday (Thanksgiving Day)
Sunny, with a high near 27. Blustery, with a northwest wind around 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.

Thursday Night
Clear, with a low around 19. Blustery.

Friday
Sunny, with a high near 34.

Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 31.

Saturday
A 40 percent chance of rain after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50.

Saturday Night
A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 44.

Sunday
A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.

Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

(Lead image: People visit the 9/11 memorial in January 2018. Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)