Space Needle: We'll have to wait until 2021 for fireworks show

Strong winds Tuesday night thwarted two attempts to light off the annual fireworks show atop the Space Needle to ring in the new year, but if you were hoping maybe the third time is the charm, officials say their attempts are done for 2020.

Wind gusts reached over 44 mph atop the Needle at 11:45 p.m., which was well beyond the safety parameters, and forced the cancelation of the fireworks at midnight, according to Dave Mandapat with the Space Needle. Instead, the Needle put on a 12-minute light and laser show to ring in 2020.

Officials tweeted they would make a second attempt at 2 a.m. if the winds died down, but alas they were still gusting over 44 mph and the show was canceled a second time, Mandapat said. Gusts had to be under 30 mph for the fireworks to safely launch.

“Some of the products we use launch several hundred feet above the Space Needle and it is impossible to contain pyrotechnics debris from exiting the exclusion zone with winds that high," said Ian Gilfillan of PyroSpectaculars, who runs the show. "Safety is our first priority and the decision to cancel the show was the right choice in that weather environment.”

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It was the first time in the 26-year history of the Needle New Year's Eve fireworks that weather stopped the show.

But the double cancelation had fans on social media wondering if the show could still go on later in the week or perhaps over the weekend when the weather was better?

The idea was considered, Mandapat said, but ultimately it wasn’t going to work out.

"Due to pre-existing Seattle Police and Fire Department staff commitments this week and weekend, appropriate city resources were not available on short notice to ensure the safety of all attendees," Mandapat said. "PyroSpectaculars will begin removal of the pyrotechnics and props from the Space Needle (Wednesday)."

Mandapat promises the 2021 show will be better than ever and that they've learned from Mother Nature this go-around to expect the unexpected.

“This was the first time in nearly three decades that weather conditions kept us from hitting the start button for the display,” Mandapat said. "We learned some things about the unpredictability of high winds this year and we will use that information to see if we can create show options in future years that will be less reliant on favorable weather conditions. We look forward to returning next year with a bigger and better T-Mobile New Year’s at the Needle fireworks display."

This article first appeared on KOMO News.