Storm takes aim at New York City’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve

What’s new

With Christmas over, Americans are turning their attention to the season’s next big holiday: New Year’s Eve. But more storms are threatening bad weather across the nation next Tuesday, including New York City, where the famous ball toss takes place in Times Square.

Why it matters

People from all over the world travel to Manhattan to watch the ball drop, with more than a billion others watching across the globe. Last year, hundreds of thousands of people were in New York on New Year’s Eve to welcome the new year.

While rain is unlikely to cancel this year’s celebration to welcome in 2025, attendees will want to dress appropriately and should keep up to date with all weather warnings.

What to know

This year, rainy weather could put a damper on New Year’s Eve as more storms are expected, with at least one storm targeting New York City.

An AccuWeather map shows snow expected in northern New York, Vermont and parts of New Hampshire, with rain expected from southern New York through North Carolina on December 31.

Rain and snow are also expected to hamper festivities in the Great Lakes region, including in Michigan and Wisconsin, and further south in the Midwest across most of Indiana.

Best fireworks will be in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego, thanks to dry, mild weather, AccuWeather reported.

What should you know if you see the ball drop?

Weather has never stopped the Times Square Ball in the history of the tradition. Even the COVID-19 pandemic did not cancel the celebration. The only time New York City did not host the prom at the height of New Year’s Eve was in late 1942 and 1943 due to World War II.

What people say

This was told by AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski Newsweek: “It looks like there’s going to be a storm approaching from the west that evening. Temperature-wise, we think it’s going to be relatively mild for the time of year in the mid to upper 40s in Times Square that evening. We’re concerned about the timing of the storm that may bring precipitation during the evening and occur in the hours leading up to the ball.

AccuWeather long-distance expert Paul Pastelok said in a report: “There could be a storm arriving on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day that has the potential to produce a mix of rain and snow for the Northeast, with all the rain further south. Rain could come before the ball drops in Times Square, but the timing of the ​​it’s still changing and something we’ll continue to monitor.”

Pastelok added: “For the rest of the nation, it should be mild along the Gulf Coast and in the southeast and dry from the southwest into the plains.”

What happens next

The forecast will become more certain in the coming days, so revelers will have a better idea of ​​what to expect on Tuesday night.

The Times Square festivities will include performances by Mark Ambor, Mickey Guyton, Carrie Underwood, Megan Moroney, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the Jonas Brothers, TLC, Greeicy, De La Ghetto, Kapo and dance group AGNEW.