Confetti Master of Times Square shares the art and science behind his paper blizzard

ByLee Goldberg and Alex Dierckman WABC logo
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Times Square Confetti Master explains science of his paper blizzard
Here at "Weather or Not with Lee Goldberg," we're used to covering things like the science behind blizzards. But what about the science behind the epic blizzard (of paper!) we are expecting to hit Times Square on Jan. 1?

TIMES SQUARE (WABC) -- Here at "Weather or Not with Lee Goldberg," we're used to covering things like the science behind blizzards. But what about the science behind the epic storm we are expecting to hit Times Square on Jan. 1?

This is a storm we can predict with exact precision, and it strikes but once a year. Yes, we're talking about the Confetti Blizzard, which is the product of one man's vision and creativity.

Meet Treb Heining, the Confetti Master of New Year's Eve. He and his crew of merrymakers dump more than 3,000 pounds of colorful confetti - each and every scrap by hand - over Times Square.

But for something that seems so straightforward, there is a lot of science that goes into it, and yes, understanding weather plays a big part.

Heining sits down with Lee and explains how it all works, and how a job creating fanciful balloon displays morphed into one of the most festive gigs in the world - making it rain paper over hundreds of thousands of people on the most hopeful moment of the year.

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You can watch the episode here, but if you want to enjoy a better experience, did you know you can catch "Weather or Not" on your television set? Just make sure you add the ABC7NY app to your streaming device (Roku, Apple TV, etc.) to check out this and other episodes of "Weather or Not."

Watch the confetti fly! Don't miss "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022" on Friday, Dec. 31, on ABC.