The National Weather Service issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for large parts of Virginia and Maryland on Saturday evening, while the Washington, D.C. region stayed under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 10 p.m. It was the kind of holiday forecast that can change plans by the hour, and it came as the region faced dangerous heat at the same time.
For people searching DC fireworks tonight, the timing matters because the worst weather was not expected until later in the day. FOX 5's Tucker Barnes said heat index values could reach 110 to 115, and an Extreme Heat Warning stayed in effect from 10 a.m. Saturday through 9 p.m. The National Weather Service said the best chance for thunderstorms was from mid- to late afternoon, with showers and thunderstorms likely after 5 p.m.
That left a narrow window for evening celebrations. Most storms were expected to move out in time for fireworks, but thunderstorms could still build quickly and bring lightning and brief heavy rain. The National Weather Service warnings covered large parts of Virginia and Maryland, though the full reach of those additional areas was not spelled out before 6:45 p.m., which made the afternoon-to-evening period the one to watch.
The heat was already forcing changes before the storms arrived. The National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C. was canceled because of the extreme heat, public entry for the Salute to America program on the National Mall was delayed until 5 p.m., and The Great American State Fair on the National Mall closed around 1 p.m. on Friday before reopening at 5 p.m. as temperatures eased. Washington, D.C. reached 100 degrees on Saturday, tying the District's record high for the Fourth of July.
The setup was a familiar one for a region that had been gripped by a heat dome for days, with cities and towns across the region already postponing or pushing back parade and fireworks start times because of the conditions. FOX 5 said it would continue Fourth of July coverage on FOX Local. By evening, the question was not whether the weather was disruptive, but whether the storms would clear fast enough for the crowds waiting on the fireworks to get the night they came for.
