How cold will the weather be for Charlotte’s Thanksgiving parade at night? Brrrr.
Bundle up.
That’s the advice of meteorologists for those planning to attend the first Thanksgiving eve version in recent memory of the annual Novant Health Thanksgiving Parade in uptown Charlotte.
“It’s going to be pretty cold,” meteorologist Scott Krentz of the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C. , told The Charlotte Observer. “You won’t need a parka, but you will need a (warm) jacket, and gloves, perhaps.”
Traditionally held Thanksgiving Day, the 75th version will instead “light up the night sky” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Charlotte Center City Partners said in announcing the switch to a night parade last month.
After a year’s hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will again welcome parade lovers along Tryon Street from Ninth Street to Stonewall Street. The 2020 version wasn’t a live event, but a broadcast of a compilation of past parades.
A high near 53 degrees is forecast Wednesday afternoon, according to the NWS.
By 6 p.m., the temperature is expected to plummet to 46 degrees under clear skies, Krentz said. By 8 p.m., temps could drop to about 42 degrees, he said.
“Right now, we have pretty good confidence in the pattern that’s expected to develop ... a cold pattern, for sure, Krentz said.
This year’s parade will feature 10 high school marching bands, four community marching bands, 28 specialty units, 13 floats, seven special performers and eight giant balloons.
Parade spectators are “strongly encouraged” to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, and to practice social distancing where possible, organizers urged.
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The switch to a night parade brought back memories to resident Daniel Jones of similar parades after World War II.
“At some time between 1946 and 1949, my father parked our car on either Trade or Tryon Street and sat me on top of the car to watch the nighttime Thanksgiving parade as it passed by,” Jones said in an email Saturday. “The nighttime parade was impressive, especially to a child, and I’m glad it is returning.”
Thanksgiving week weather
The cold, dry weather in Charlotte is expected to last through Thanksgiving Day, according to the NWS. Forecasters predict mostly sunny skies with a high near 62 on Thursday.
Friday has a 30% chance of showers with a high near 61, NWS meteorologists said.
For holiday travelers, showers are likely late Sunday in such destinations as Asheville and Atlanta, and on Monday in Raleigh, but skies in those areas should otherwise be storm-free through Thanksgiving Day, according to NWS forecasts.
Skies Sunday through Thursday should be mostly sunny to all sunshine along the Carolinas coast, Columbia, and the Interstate 85 corridor in the Carolinas and Georgia, according to the NWS.
Predicted temperatures vary widely depending on location. A high of only 37 degrees is expected in Boone on Tuesday, while Wilmington could hit 70 degrees on Sunday, NWS meteorologists said.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 12:03 PM.