Washington's July 4 parade is off. The fireworks are still on

By Willem Marx. Standfirst: Organizers called off the Independence Day Parade late Friday, citing an extreme heat warning with temperatures expected to reach up to 115 degrees. The evening fireworks display remains scheduled. Washington's National Independence Day Parade has been canceled, according to an announcement from organizers late Friday night. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued an extreme heat warning for the D.C. area, in effect from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Saturday. The agency said heat index values, which combine temperature and humidity, are expected to reach between 110°F and 115°F, and warned that “heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events.” The cancellation came hours after Washington recorded its hottest day in decades. Reagan National Airport hit 102°F on Friday afternoon, breaking a record of 101°F for that specific date, which had stood since 1966. Saturday's temperatures are forecast to approach or match that figure, which would make it the hottest July Fourth on record for the city. The administration organized tonight's National Mall celebrations under the Freedom 250 banner. Saturday's fireworks display, billed by the White House as the largest in the country's history, remains scheduled and is set to begin at 10:30 p.m. from the Washington Monument grounds, after a presidential speech that Trump promised would be “really long.” However the NWS also warned of the possibility of “severe thunderstorms” into the afternoon and evening, that could produce “destructive wind gusts up to 70 to 80 mph.” Around 120 million Americans across a swathe of the eastern and southern U.S. are facing some form of major or extreme heat risk on Saturday.