More than 185 million people were under heat alerts Friday as a massive heat dome settled over more than half the country, threatening to turn the nation’s 250th birthday weekend into one of the hottest and most disrupted Independence Day stretches on record.
The National Weather Service warned Thursday that dangerous, record-breaking heat would continue across much of the central and eastern United States through Friday and persist along the East Coast through the weekend, prompting communities from New England to the Rocky Mountains to cancel, postpone or otherwise alter their Independence Day plans, according to the Associated Press. The disruptions come as the country marks a milestone anniversary, with the America250 initiative coordinating parades, fireworks and festivals in all 50 states, many of them now competing with extreme weather instead of complementing the holiday.
The heat wave sweeping the eastern United States was expected to peak Friday and Saturday, with more than 300 temperature records forecast to fall by Saturday. The Climate Prediction Center projected hotter-than-normal temperatures from July 2 to 6 across a wide swath of the country, with highs in the upper 90s and low 100s stretching from the Midwest into the East, placing Minnesota among the states facing the greatest risk alongside Wisconsin, Iowa and much of the Great Lakes region.
In Washington, D.C., organizers of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall opted to continue the event through the heat rather than cancel, adding climate-controlled tents for visitors seeking relief. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents and visitors to plan ahead, stay in the shade and limit time outdoors as the city prepared for all-day festivities and an expanded fireworks show honoring the semiquincentennial. New York City activated cooling centers across its boroughs and, for the first time, deployed medical vans to perform wellness checks and hand out water and electrolytes, CBS News New York reported.
Pennsylvania has seen some of the most extensive changes to its America250 programming. In Philadelphia, officials shortened the route of a Thursday parade, canceled an afternoon block party and pushed back the start times of an evening picnic and concert at Independence Mall, the Associated Press reported. In Norristown, officials canceled a parade planned for Saturday while allowing evening fireworks and an afternoon party to proceed. “With dangerous heat in the forecast, the safety of our families, our marchers and our first responders must come first,” said Jayne Musonye, interim municipal administrator of Norristown.
Nearby, West York Borough canceled its America250 celebration at Freedom Park, with officials saying it may be rescheduled for August, while Lower Windsor Township postponed its own 250th anniversary event to July 8. In Boston, entrance to the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular was pushed back to 4 p.m. Saturday instead of noon because of the heat.
Farther west, drought conditions and elevated wildfire risk, rather than heat alone, are driving cancellations. In Cripple Creek, Colorado, fire officials scrapped the city’s fireworks display outright. “It would not be responsible to proceed with a fireworks display under these circumstances,” said Cripple Creek Fire Chief O’Conor. The city of Trinidad, Colorado, canceled several water-themed activities to conserve water as drought worsens across the region.
California communities have taken similar precautions. Antioch canceled its Fourth of July parade because of dangerous heat, though evening festivities and fireworks are expected to proceed once conditions ease after sunset. St. Helena postponed its fireworks show after fire officials warned that dry vegetation and wildfire risk made a display unsafe, while Healdsburg canceled its fireworks entirely, citing a red flag warning and multiple active fires that could strain emergency resources.
The threat isn’t limited to heat and drought. Forecasters warned that a broad area of severe thunderstorms was likely into Thursday night from eastern Montana and much of the Dakotas into northern and eastern Nebraska, central and southern Minnesota, Wisconsin and much of Iowa, with the risk continuing through the holiday weekend across the Midwest and East. Some storms are expected to arrive around the same time as planned evening fireworks displays in major cities, raising the possibility of last-minute disruptions even where events have not yet been altered.
In the Midwest, the combination of heat and storm risk has already affected agriculture. Meteorologists have warned of potential crop damage in Minnesota similar to flooding and wind damage the state saw in mid-June, as a shift in the jet stream brings additional rounds of severe weather into the region.
