High winds threaten, but fireworks should still fire

Blustery winds buffeting the region today are expected to die down by midnight which will allow the New Year's Eve fireworks display at Penn's Landing to go on as scheduled, organizers said.

"Looking at the forecasts, the worst of the winds will be over by 10 or 11," said Ralph Piacquadio of Pyrotecnico, the show's producer. "I feel confident we'll get it all in."

Gusts of up to 50 m.p.h. are expected to whip through the city, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a high wind warning through 10 p.m.

Winds will drop to about 25 m.p.h. by midnight, when the first salvos of the 15-minute display begin to streak over the Delaware River.

"The wind is always a challenge," Piacquadio said this morning. "But we've got a huge area out there. The Delaware is big and wide."

The rocket shells will be launched from a tugboat on the river, he said.

"If we need to change the fallout area [from the fireworks' embers] we'll just move the tug," he said. His firm is based in New Castle, Pa.

With temperatures in the mid-20s, the gusts will help create a windchill that will make it feel like 13 degrees on the banks of the Delaware during the fireworks.

"Absolutely, it will be chilly," said weather service meteorologist Jim Poirier. "People will certainly need to dress for the weather if they plan to be outside. For those planning a trek to New York City, at Times Square it will probably be even colder."

Partly cloudy skies this evening will turn mostly clear by midnight, Poirier said.

The Mummers should be marching under sunny skies tomorrow with a brisk breeze and sobering temps reaching highs in the mid-30s, Poirier said.