USA TODAY International Edition
Weather to rival fireworks
Along with storms, expect 4th to be scorcher
“Is that thunder ... or fireworks?” For folks in the Midwest and East, that might not be an easy question to answer Thursday – July 4 – as Mother Nature will provide plenty of natural fireworks over a large chunk of the northern USA. “Storms are likely from northern and central Idaho eastward to Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey, New York state and Delaware,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. Thanks to plentiful clouds and rain, cities such as Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh are forecast to have some of the poorest viewing conditions for fireworks Thursday evening, according to AccuWeather. People in Montana, as well as the Dakotas, will have to deal with cloudy skies and a few raindrops. Most of the storms will occur from 3 to 9 p.m. A few showers and thunderstorms are possible from parts of central and
eastern Texas to the middle Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
The best bets for rain-free weather are New England, the southern Eastern Seaboard and much of the West, according to AccuWeather.
Blistering heat and stifling humidity will be the main story across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast as highs skyrocket into the 90s for most of the week.
Factoring in the humidity, the heat index could top 110 degrees in many locations during the afternoon, the National Weather Service predicted.
“Beat the heat, check the backseat for children and pets when parking your car and drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated,” the weather service said.
Some of the coolest weather on July 4 will be in parts of the northern Plains and northern Rockies, where highs will generally hold in the 70s, the Weather Channel said.
Record heat is forecast in typically mild Alaska, where temperatures are forecast to soar into the low to mid-80s in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Visibility for both cities will be dimmed because of wildfire smoke, the weather service said.
For some of the USA’s most patriotic cities, the forecast is 88 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms in Independence, Missouri; mostly sunny and 68 in Freedom, California; and 87 with a slight chance of thunderstorms in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.