Baltimore's New Year's fireworks went off precisely at midnight, on time and on schedule, despite low attendance in a sputtering, cold rain and a dense fog that obscured the highest and brightest pyrotechnic displays as they exploded over the Inner Harbor.

Some residents are questioning the decision to shoot off the fireworks and not delay a day, as the city did the year before, when a stiff wind made it too dangerous to shoot explosives into the air. But the executive director of Baltimore's Office of Promotion and the Arts said the only reason to postpone the event is for public safety.

"It's unfortunate that the low ceiling did create a problem with the higher fireworks," said the director, Bill Gilmore, who watched the display from the deck of the Constellation. "But to call it off because the quality might not be what you want is not a good decision."

He estimated the Inner Harbor crowd to be about 30,000, down from a typical 100,000. He also said that though it was rainy and foggy, there was no wind, which also can create problems because the smoke from fireworks lingers instead of blowing away and offering a clearer view of the displays.

Fog seemed to move quickly into downtown just after the first bursts shot into the air. As the 18-minute show went on, fog obscured some of the tallest downtown buildings. From Federal Hill rooftops, the three barges were visible but rockets designed to fly high quickly disappeared, and at times only the bottom half of ball-shaped displays were visible. During the final minutes, the clouds lit up but even the colorful finale was shrouded.

Paul W. Robinson, the head of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, watched the display from his rooftop deck and from Federal Hill Park. "I'm sure it would've been much more impressive had it been a clear night," he said.

Cathy Strodel, who lives in Federal Hill, said she accompanied a group of friends down to the harbor minutes before midnight and ended up scoring a great spot because so few people were there. But they had a hard time seeing the fireworks.

"The fog just kind of cut them off; it was hard to see how beautiful they were," she said.

The decision to cancel or go ahead with the fireworks is made by representatives from the police and fire departments and the city's emergency management office, with input from Gilmore's office and officials from the company that provided the fireworks. Ports America, a harbor terminal operator, paid more than $100,000 for the display.

Gilmore said pushing the fireworks back a day would mean towing the three barges back to Curtis Bay and then putting them back out the next evening. The company would foot the bill - provisions to cover the cost of delays related to inclement weather are in the contract - but he said the city would have to pay to deploy extra police and fire personnel.

Not shooting off the fireworks, Gilmore said, "would disappoint the people who came down and weathered the storm. ... You would've gotten a whole lot of complaints if we didn't do the display. We're lucky we were able to continue the tradition this year."

Private funding for next year's New Year's display is not yet in place, he said.

Baltimore Sun reporter Laura Smitherman contributed to this article.