July 4, 2014 celebrations dampened by Hurricane Arthur

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain (now officially known as the United Kingdom). Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.

Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (like the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation’s heritage, laws, history, society, and people.

Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue and take advantage of the day off and, in some years, long weekend to gather with relatives. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades are often in the morning, while fireworks displays occur in the evening at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares.

The night before the Fourth was once the focal point of celebrations, marked by raucous gatherings often incorporating bonfires as their centerpiece. In New England, towns competed to build towering pyramids, assembled from hogsheads and barrels and casks. They were lit at nightfall, to usher in the celebration. The highest were in Salem, Massachusetts (on Gallows Hill, the famous site of the execution of 13 women and 6 men for witchcraft in 1692 during the Salem witch trials, where the tradition of bonfires in celebration had persisted), composed of as many as forty tiers of barrels; these are the tallest bonfires ever recorded. The custom flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is still practiced in some New England towns.

Independence Day fireworks are often accompanied by patriotic songs such as the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “God Bless America”, “America the Beautiful”, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”, “This Land Is Your Land”, “Stars and Stripes Forever”, and, regionally, “Yankee Doodle” in northeastern states and “Dixie” in southern states. Some of the lyrics recall images of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812.

Firework shows are held in many states, and many fireworks are sold for personal use or as an alternative to a public show. Safety concerns have led some states to ban fireworks or limit the sizes and types allowed. Illicit traffic transfers many fireworks from less restrictive states.

A salute of one gun for each state in the United States, called a “salute to the union,” is fired on Independence Day at noon by any capable military base.

In 2009, New York City had the largest fireworks display in the country, with over 22 tons of pyrotechnics exploded. Other major displays are in Chicago on Lake Michigan; in San Diego over Mission Bay; in Boston on the Charles River; in St. Louis on the Mississippi River; in San Francisco over the San Francisco Bay; and on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. During the annual Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, Detroit, Michigan hosts one of the world’s largest fireworks displays, over the Detroit River, to celebrate Independence Day in conjunction with Windsor, Ontario’s celebration of Canada Day.

While the official observance always falls on July 4th, participation levels may vary according to which day of the week the 4th falls on. If the holiday falls in the middle of the week, some fireworks displays and celebrations may take place during the weekend for convenience, again, varying by region.

The first week of July is typically one of the busiest American travel periods of the year, as many people utilize the holiday for extended vacation trips.

God Bless all Americans this year of 2014, as Hurricane Arthur ravages the east coast of North America.

BY RACHEL WEINER AND JULIE ZAUZMER

A hurricane wheeling up the Atlantic Ocean is wreaking havoc on Independence Day fun from the Mid-Atlantic to New England.

The annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert was moved from Friday to Thursday. Surf City, N.C., scrapped its annual fireworks show. On the North Carolina shore, celebrations were pushed to Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

Arthur was designated as the first Atlantic hurricane of the season early Thursday. In the day’s last minutes, the storm made landfall near the southern end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Arthur was a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was moving northeast at 18 mph, the Associated Press reported. After Friday morning, Arthur is forecast to continue toward New England.

Although they are clear of the hurricane’s predicted path, Virginia Beach and Maryland’s Eastern Shore are expecting wind and rain to put a damper on July 4 celebrations. Ocean City, Virginia Beach and Bethany Beach rescheduled their fireworks to Saturday night.

The National Park Service said it hopes to hold its fireworks show on the Mall in Washington as scheduled Friday night, but it is prepared to postpone it if the weather interferes.

Carol Johnson, a Park Service spokeswoman, said 6,000 fireworks were set up early on Thursday near the Lincoln Memorial, along with a fence to protect the fireworks and mesh to shield them from sidelong rain.

“As long as anyone can remember, they’ve never been rescheduled,” Johnson said. “They’ve maybe been pushed back half an hour.”

Jason Samenow, meteorologist for The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang, had predicted that the storm could have winds as fast as 105 mph as it hit land in North Carolina, making it powerful enough to damage roofs and take down trees and power lines, which would mean that you may require the assistance to a roofing company similar to roofing Chattanooga or company more local to you.

“This is looking like the most potent hurricane to make landfall in the United States in six years,” Samenow said.

Washington and its suburbs will be only slightly affected, Samenow said. The hurricane is not expected to come inland as far as the District, but the moisture and humidity from the storm system contributed to severe thunderstorms in the region Thursday afternoon.

Those storms knocked out power for tens of thousands of customers across the Washington region, tore part of the roof off an apartment building in College Park, toppled trees onto roads and houses, and splattered the region with quarter-size hail. One woman was struck by lightning in Montgomery County but was not seriously injured.

As of 9 p.m., about 80,000 outages were reported across the region, with almost 34,000 customers without electricity in Montgomery County and 29,000 without power in Prince George’s County.

Also Thursday night, severe thunderstorms delayed trains between Washington and Philadelphia .

Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said about 20 trains were delayed by intermittent power outages and downed trees in areas between the District and Philadelphia, but mainly in the corridor north of Baltimore. As of 10:30 p.m., hundreds of passengers continued to deal with delays as trains traveled through areas that had lost power.

“We’re just sort of slow moving through the area,” Graham said.

In Montgomery County, fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said a woman was struck by lightning near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Democracy Boulevard but was not seriously injured.

By Saturday, the weather should be clear at the beaches in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, and beaches in New England will be clear by Saturday afternoon. Even though the skies will be sunny, the storm will leave behind high seas and rip currents that could make swimming risky until Sunday.

In North Carolina, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) declared a state of emergency for 25 coastal and adjoining counties Wednesday evening. “Don’t put your ‘stupid hat’ on,” he said at a news conference, urging those who choose to stay to avoid the water. On Thursday, he reassured residents and visitors that the state was prepared for the worst but was optimistic.

“This holiday weekend is one of the biggest weekends for coastal tourism,” he said, “and we expect a beautiful weekend after the hurricane.”

Hurricanes are hardly a new experience for the Outer Banks, which was hit by Irene in 2011, Ophelia in 2005, Alex in 2004, Isabel in 2003 and Floyd in 1999.

The thin, fragile islands are prone to flooding. Most houses are built on stilts for just that reason.

Hatteras Island, a long stretch of sand that covers half the length of the Outer Banks, was put under mandatory evacuation Thursday, officials said. Ocracoke Island, to the south, was under voluntary evacuation.

“We’re closing this evening and tomorrow, but we believe the storm will be past us and we’ll be able to open for the night of the Fourth,” Nathaniel Schramel, whose father owns the Flying Melon Cafe on Ocracoke, said Thursday. Despite the voluntary evacuation, he said, the island was still busy with tourists and locals.

In the wider land north of Hatteras, locals and seasoned visitors weren’t worried.

“We’ll drop the storm shutters, and we’ll round up anything that could be taken for a ride with the wind, but all the indications are it’s going to be in and out quick,” said Richard Hoffman, a math teacher in Kill Devil Hills. His daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren are visiting for the holiday. They will barbecue Friday regardless of weather, he said — they can put the grill under the house.

“We’re all very disappointed,” she said.

“But when you’re dealing with nature, there’s not much you can do.”

For others, however, the oncoming storm interrupted holiday plans.

“We’re going to get together at our house back in Silver Spring and simulate our time together with a barbecue,” Mary Jo Schumaker said Thursday as she returned from Hatteras, where she and her family vacation with friends each summer.

They had to evacuate in August 2011 for Hurricane Irene, so they moved their trip to earlier in the season to avoid future storms. And yet they were forced off the island again.