Will the Winds Cancel the Fireworks Show?

We'll be in town for New Year's Eve this year and my husband says that the fireworks display, which I'm really looking forward to, might be called off due to wind speed. He's an engineer, so he tends to know these things. But can you tell me how likely is it that the show won't go on?

It's true that winds effect fireworks shows. If they're too strong, they can blow fireworks off their prescribed path and start fires (trees, buildings, brush). Fireworks, both public displays and private practices, cause upwards of 20,000 fires every year, with July 4th reporting more fires than any other day of the year.

Conversely, little to no wind can create a haze from the smoke, dulling the colors of the public shows.

From what we've seen, the perfect wind speed is between five and 10 miles per hour.

The main concern surrounds "duds" (supposedly an acronym for "dangerous unexploded device") and misfires. A lot of different things can go wrong when an explosive device fails to ignite, especially around July 4th's typical hot and dry conditions; these are exacerbated in the Southwest, in the middle of an epic drought.

However, the Las Vegas show is launched from hotel rooftops, hundreds of feet in the air, over a concrete jungle, which tends to mitigate, though not eliminate, the danger.

Rain is also variable in terms of effecting the display. A drizzle hardly impacts the show, while moistening the ground and decreasing the chances for fires. Hard rain, of course, is bad; it can douse the fuses and prevent the fireworks from launching.

When this question was submitted, it looked like rain and wind for New Year's Eve. Then it looked like no rain or wind. As of yesterday morning, the forecast was back to rain and wind, with precipitation starting around 10 p.m. and becoming heavy at times for a total of a half-inch by the end of New Year's Day. Winds could gust up to 35 mph. But as of this writing, it looks like there's a possibility of scattered showers after 4 p.m., then "significant rainfall" between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., with winds gusting to 25 mph. If it does rain tomorrow night, it will be the first time it has on New Year's Eve since 1943! We'll see.

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Comments

kennethross Dec-30-2022

Is today’s response …

… from a writer new to LVA?

rokgpsman Dec-30-2022

LUV on the rocks

I heard there's already been a lot of fireworks this week in the Southwest Airlines area inside the Vegas/McCarran/HRI Airport.

Ray Dec-30-2022

So...maybe?

I guess the question should have been more specific, like what criteria do the authorities use to determine whether or not the show should be canceled...and how does that relate to the forecast?

jeepbeer Dec-30-2022

weather

what odds are the books posting?

Bud Ackley Dec-30-2022

@kennethross

You asked if today's answer was written by a writer new to LVA. From the lack of proofing of the answer, I would guess it's the usual writer whose frequent typos and usage errors are a regular feature of the QoD.

"It's true that winds effect fireworks shows." It should be *affect*, not effect. 

"Rain is also variable in terms of effecting the display." Same error.

For the New Year, Anthony Curtis should invest in a proofreader for the QoD, or he should make a New Year's resolution to proof his QoD writer's copy himself. I've noticed Anthony's copy never has these grammar, usage, or typo issues.

O2bnVegas Dec-30-2022

For kennethross and Bud

(add music notes here) "Every party has a pooper and that's why we invited you...Party Pooper, Party Pooper."  (Close with music notes.)

Perhaps all you have to do is search postings for grammatical errors, then snarkily point them out?

"affect" and "effect" are indeed commonly misused, but who the heck cares? Did you happen to note and appreciate the informative content of the response, the one that took a lot of time to research and compose? 

Candy

Bud Ackley Dec-30-2022

@O2bnVegas

I guess your write.

I don't search for grammatical errors. They leap out at me when they occur in places where they should never be seen like the QoD where they are a chronic problem. Sometimes, I see three, four typos in one QoD answer. It's a longstanding problem.

When I first started visiting Vegas in the late 80s, I was shocked to see how poorly written everything was from the R-J to those tourist magazines and casinos' ads, flyers and even signage. Misspellings and poorly written English added to the perception that Vegas was a fourth rate city which, back then, it was. Gradually as Vegas became a world class city, its writing improved accordingly.

There is no excuse for the QoD's errors not being caught. They degrade LVA. It's not Vegas, 1986 anymore.

Gtojohnr Dec-30-2022

To Bud Ackley

Who REALLY cares about the misspelling and “bad” grammar and “typos except for you
Who or what are you…..the grammar police ?

CMU Jan-01-2023

Grammer

With the huge increase in price this year I think LVA can afford a proofreader.

Question of the Day - 30 December 2022

Comments