Rain on the 4th could pass quickly

YOUNGSTOWN —Rain or thunderstorms may put a damper on your Fourth of July weekend barbecue, parade or fireworks show.

But have a little patience because if it does rain or storm, it should pass quickly.

“If we get thunderstorms, they’ll be fairly short,” said Mark Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. “It won’t be a long rain.”

There’s a 30 percent chance of rain showers or thunderstorms today, a 40 percent chance Saturday and Sunday.

“That small chance lingers in the forecast for the weekend,” Adams said.

So you may have to wait 15 or 20 minutes to fire up the barbecue or have an umbrella handy as you grab candy at the parade.

The temperature will steadily climb this weekend, Adams said.

The high for today is expected to be in the upper 70s, approach 80 degrees Saturday, be in the low 80s Sunday and then the mid-80s Monday.

Eighty degrees is the average high temperature for the Mahoning Valley during this part of July, according to National Weather Service statistics.

As for June, it rained a majority of days, but it didn’t amount to much.

Rain fell 21 of the month’s 30 days.

The total amount was only 3.18 inches of precipitation, or 0.73 of an inch less than average for a June.

The heaviest rainfall last month was 0.67 of an inch June 3.

Through the first six months of the year, 24.25 inches of precipitation fell on the Valley, or 5.86 inches above average.