LEWISTON – Trust the balloonmeister. The Great Falls Balloon Festival is stronger than a few dark clouds.

“Don’t let the forecast keep you away,” said Walter Crites, balloonmeister for the annual festival. “We’re not as fragile as you might think.”

In all, six launches are planned for the three-day festival, in early morning and late afternoon each day. During its 11-year history, the festival has never missed all six launches.

“We’ve never been skunked,” Crites said. Yet, in those same years, all six launches have taken place only once. That was in 2003.

“Safety comes first,” said Crites, who has the authority to ground any of the 44 balloons on the schedule. He won’t make them go up, though.

“The go/no-go decision is up to each pilot,” he said. “We put no pressure on them to launch.”

Such decisions are likely to come up again this year.

A cold front will move through the area on Saturday, bringing showers with it, according to the National Weather Service.

“This low will be almost on top of us by the afternoon,” said James Brown, a meteorologist for the weather service’s Gray office. “I don’t believe it’s looking all that great.”

Both Friday and Sunday will be much better, Brown said. Sunday was predicted to be partly cloudy.

The forecast for Friday included morning fog and mild winds in the afternoon. Yet, even a moderate 10 mph wind can force the cancellation of a launch.

“We only need a small wind to do what we do,” balloonmeister Crites said.

Ideally, pilots look for a breeze of 2 to 3 mph. That’s enough to push them along but not enough to create instability.

It’s the kind of detail watched by every balloonist.

About an hour before each launch, Crites checks with an aviation flight service for an up-to-the-minute forecast. Then, moments before his briefing with pilots, he checks again on his cell phone.

“This is Maine,” he said. “The weather can change from minute to minute.”

In the case of a shower or fog, he may postpone a launch in hopes of clearing.

“We have some time to wait it out,” he said. The 6 a.m. launch might be delayed until 8 a.m. The window is shorter for the 5:30 p.m. launch, since organizers want to ensure that all the balloons land before dark.

The weather information is used in other days, too.

The wind direction is used to assign launch sites. For instance, if the wind is blowing north, sites to the south of Lewiston-Auburn’s downtown will be used.

All of it is aimed at getting the balloons in the air above the festival’s headquarters, Railroad Park.

“We manage to get up every year,” Crites said. “I’m optimistic that we will again.”