july 4 weather audio for JS
The July Fourth holiday weekend forecast.The city's fireworks tradition has never been doused by rain, said Cumming Fairgrounds Administrator Dave Horton.
And while Horton hopes to continue to beat the rain, it might all come down to timing.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City has forecast a 20 percent chance of rain for Thursday, said spokesman Frank Taylor.
"There is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms and the high is pretty seasonable near 86 degrees," he said. "The low will be around 64 degrees."
Horton said he doesn't expect any weather issues, but anything can happen.
"We've had some rain come in right before the fireworks before, and it would just hammer us pretty hard, but then it would clear up just in time and we'd get that little window," he said.
"As far as the crowd, the crowd is usually here, even in the years we've had some torrential rains come in beforehand."
Forsyth County Fire Department Capt. Jason Shivers said the more moisture in the ground, the less likely it is for a fire to start or thrive. Low wind is also ideal for fireworks, he said.
"Our concern is that the fallout of fireworks shows, embers and debris raining down from the explosions, can potentially be hot enough to ignite the ground cover," he said.
"The rain this past weekend is going to aid... and the weather this week isn't expected to be hot, so that will prevent the ground moisture from evaporating away."
Shivers said he is confident the show will be safe. Even if a small fire did start, the ground surrounding the fireworks will be covered by several trucks and fire personnel to contain any sparks.
"We're doing our part as a public service agency to ensure the safety of the people," he said. "We'll maintain those watches for approximately an hour after the shows, just to insure there was no fallout during the show."
As for Friday's parade, Taylor said the day's high should be a warm 88 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The chance of rain Friday and through the weekend is 30 percent, which he said is standard for this time of year.
"This kind of probability doesn't indicate it's going to be a widespread event," he said.
"It's just normal, typical pop-up showers and thunderstorms that happen every summer in the Southeast."
Fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, with festivities running from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Friday.
For information on the fireworks and parade, call (770) 781-3491 or visit www.cummingfair.net.
And while Horton hopes to continue to beat the rain, it might all come down to timing.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City has forecast a 20 percent chance of rain for Thursday, said spokesman Frank Taylor.
"There is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms and the high is pretty seasonable near 86 degrees," he said. "The low will be around 64 degrees."
Horton said he doesn't expect any weather issues, but anything can happen.
"We've had some rain come in right before the fireworks before, and it would just hammer us pretty hard, but then it would clear up just in time and we'd get that little window," he said.
"As far as the crowd, the crowd is usually here, even in the years we've had some torrential rains come in beforehand."
Forsyth County Fire Department Capt. Jason Shivers said the more moisture in the ground, the less likely it is for a fire to start or thrive. Low wind is also ideal for fireworks, he said.
"Our concern is that the fallout of fireworks shows, embers and debris raining down from the explosions, can potentially be hot enough to ignite the ground cover," he said.
"The rain this past weekend is going to aid... and the weather this week isn't expected to be hot, so that will prevent the ground moisture from evaporating away."
Shivers said he is confident the show will be safe. Even if a small fire did start, the ground surrounding the fireworks will be covered by several trucks and fire personnel to contain any sparks.
"We're doing our part as a public service agency to ensure the safety of the people," he said. "We'll maintain those watches for approximately an hour after the shows, just to insure there was no fallout during the show."
As for Friday's parade, Taylor said the day's high should be a warm 88 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. The chance of rain Friday and through the weekend is 30 percent, which he said is standard for this time of year.
"This kind of probability doesn't indicate it's going to be a widespread event," he said.
"It's just normal, typical pop-up showers and thunderstorms that happen every summer in the Southeast."
Fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, with festivities running from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Friday.
For information on the fireworks and parade, call (770) 781-3491 or visit www.cummingfair.net.