Rain is expected to fall over much of Vermont this weekend as towns gear up to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Juliet Shen, marketing & outreach manager at Burlington Parks and Recreation, said the Queen City’s fireworks show, scheduled for Monday, July 3, is expected to take place unless thunder, lightning or particularly high winds are detected.
“It is a rain or shine event, so rain itself should not affect the (Burlington) fireworks,” she said. According to Shen, weather conditions will be monitored from the community boathouse in Burlington with calls to delay or cancel the fireworks made within 30 minutes of the show.
Brooke Taber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Burlington, said that rain and thunder are expected on Saturday throughout the Champlain Valley and western Vermont, with general rain showers and possible thunderstorms expected through most parts of the state Sunday.
On Monday and Tuesday, when many towns will be celebrating the Fourth of July, additional showers and thunderstorms are likely, Taber said.
According to the National Weather Service, overall precipitation during the month of June in Vermont has been relatively normal, with higher overall precipitation in the Northeast Kingdom, and south and central regions of Vermont. According to Taber, precipitation has varied greatly from town to town.
“I expect many areas for the month of June will be just above normal precipitation,” Taber said. “But it’s highly variable.”
In Burlington, rain has been in the forecast 12 days out of 30 in June and has fallen about two tenths of an inch below average, while in Montpelier rain has fallen about six-tenths of an inch above average and on 16 days out of 30.
While these levels are not highly unusual, weather service officials say, many Vermonters have been left to navigate the sticky combination of rain and high summer temperatures more often than not this month.
Despite the recent rain, much of the state has been experiencing unusually dry conditions.
According to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a majority of Lamoille and Franklin counties, and parts of Orleans, Chittenden and Washington counties, continue to experience “moderate drought.” Elsewhere in Vermont, in parts of every county except for Windham, conditions have been categorized as “abnormally dry,” experiencing slightly less severe dryness.
According to Georgie Rubens, market director at the Burlington Farmers Market, recent rainy days have slowed market attendance but haven’t reduced it.
“I think what we’ve seen is that in general on rainy days, it’s kind of a slower start to the day, but by the end of the market day, it kind of feels like many of our other typical market days,” Rubens said.
Al Gobeille, the owner of Burlington Bay Market & Cafe, has noticed the same.
“When it rains, there’s definitely fewer people at the waterfront, so we’re still busy, but just not as busy,” said Gobeille. “In Vermont it always evens out. You’ve just got to wait a little.”
