4th of July may bring more than fireworks; hurricane Arthur, the first storm of the season, is expected to bring hard rains and high winds, squashing plans for fireworks among many parts of the east coast.
Hurricane Arthur will mark the start of hurricane season; he is expected to bring around 2 in. of rain to the coasts of North Carolina and eastern Florida. Other southern states will also be affected and face the danger of high ocean currents. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers also advises that those driving during the storm be careful as roads may flood near North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
According to Reuters, Arthur is still at sea with winds around 60 mph as of early Wednesday. He remains approximately 100 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and around 275 miles from Charleston, South Carolina. Arthur may pick up speed as he continues to move north and could get up to hurricane force at 85 mph before he hits the Carolinas between Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th; after that he will grow weaker.
The storm will move past Washington in time for its firework display at the Washington Nation Mall. Boston, on the other hand, may have to cancel their well-known Boston Pops firework show due to the storm. Boston city officials have yet to decide whether to cancel the event or try to see what the weather brings. They plan to make the final decision on Thursday, according to CNN.
Many east coast beaches have cancelled their firework shows and festivities due to the oncoming storm. Others, such as Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, have postponed their celebrations until Saturday July 5th.