New Year’s Eve washout as thousands brave freak lightning storm and torrential rain to welcome in 2025 at NYC’s iconic Times Square ball drop

New Yorkers braved lightning, thunder and torrential rain alongside one million people packed into Times Square to watch the iconic ball drop.

Spirits were high in the crowd during and leading up to the midnight fireworks extravaganza, while CNN’s Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper were forced to duck for cover from the downpour.

The crowds screamed as the countdown began at 11.59pm, joining in with deafening excitement in spite of the deluge.

Soaking wet revelers danced with one another and kissed as 2024 drew to a close and 2025 began. One woman held up a sign which read ‘she said yes!’ as she embraced her new fiance.

Meteorologist Chris Vagasky revealed on Tuesday night that there had been ‘134 lightning events detected within 50 miles of Times Square in 35 minutes.’

The iconic current New Year’s Eve ball dropped for the final time tonight. It will now be retired to the museum in the newly restored One Times Square and replaced.

In all, 3,000 pounds of confetti rained down on revelers as the clock struck midnight with messages of hope, love, good health and peace for the year ahead. 

Additional security measures were put in place across the city to reassure tourists and locals that it was safe to attend festivities. 

Specialized units have been manning rooftops and hotels while bomb-sniffing dogs roam around and helicopter and drone teams monitor from the skies. 

Designated pick-pocketing teams are also patrolling the area around Times Square, doubly helping with crowd control.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said New Yorkers can rest easy knowing there are no specific threats or concerns relating to this evening’s event, although the department has been operating in a ‘heightened threat environment’ since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, 2023.

As the crowd gathered at Times Square, watchers-on were warned they were not allowed to pack their umbrellas despite the rain.

AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Duff warned crowds to expect to be drenched if they are out in the elements.

‘The rain will be heavy at times, and people standing in Times Square will get soaked during the evening.’ 

It made for a miserable evening for some, with pictures capturing the moment onlookers abandoned the packed square and tried to hunker down out of the rain. 

People from around the world traveled to party together in the iconic street-venue, waiting patiently in drizzle as they prepared for a long night of entertainment on their feet.

Revelers  crowded against the barricades in their New Year’s best including tall hats, 2025 themed sunglasses and waterproof ponchos.

ABC’s ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ lineup featured live performances from Rita Ora, the Jonas Brothers, Megan Moroney, Mark Ambor, TLC, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Carrie Underwood.

Ellis-Bexter was criticized for a ‘breathless’ performance. The Murder on the Dancefloor hitmaker enjoyed renewed popularity this year after the song featured in an infamous scene at the end of Saltburn, starring Barry Keoghan.

Mickey Guyton was the final performer before the clock struck 12 with a moving rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine.

It was the quietest the crowd had been all evening, with many taking the opportunity to cozy up to their loved ones and sway from side to side, making the most of the closing minutes of 2025. 

Earlier, New Yorkers were treated to an extra celebration – acknowledging the city’s 400th birthday. 

The Times Square tradition with the ball drop began in 1907, and is a must-do bucket list item for people all around the world, who fly in in droves for the spectacle. 

The event attracted about a million people who were there in person to ring in 2025, with more than a billion watching on at home. 

The ball drop marks the end of 2024; a year of highs and lows around the world.

2024 saw the Paris Olympics unite the world in July and August.

Athletes swam in the Seine, raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower, and rode horses across the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.

Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral, and two atronauts were sent to space on Boeing’s Starliner – where they remain due to technical problems.

It was a global year of elections, with countless millions going to the polls across more than 60 countries.

Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian ballot widely dismissed as a sham, while a student uprising in Bangladesh toppled the reigning prime minister.

However, no vote was as closely watched as the November 5 contest that will soon see Donald Trump back in the White House.

Around the world, nations have already had their fireworks displays and celebrated the new year.

More than one million people packed the area around Sydney Harbour to watch around nine tonnes of fireworks be blasted from the famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Celebrations were more muted in South Korea after the country was rocked in recent days by political turmoil and the Jeju Air plane tragedy, with a moment of silence held for the 179 victims.

With Seoul’s famous Lotte Tower countdown called off and parties cancelled, the new year milestone was marked by somber crowds who watched as the traditional Bosingak bell was rung, without the performances that usually accompany it.

In Japan, crowds gathered at Tokyo’s Tokudai-ji to offer their prayers for the new year and take part in the yearly bell-tolling to mark the start of the new year.

The first place to ring in the new year was Christmas Island, officially known as Kiritimati, which is home to more than 7,000 people and is the farthest forward timezone in the world.

The island, which is part of the small nation of Kiribati, was followed by Tonga, Somoa and New Zealand’s Chatham Islands soon after.

Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West.

Xi told Putin their countries will ‘always move forward hand in hand,’ the official Xinhua News Agency said.

China celebrated with an incredible drone show featuring a dragon twisting and turning through the night sky. 

In India, thousands of revelers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city’s bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea. In Sri Lanka, people gathered at Buddhist temples to light oil lamps and incense sticks and pray.

In Dubai, thousands are were attending a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. And in Nairobi, Kenya, scattered fireworks were heard as midnight approached.