Rain, ‘technical difficulties’ shorten Raleigh’s July 4th fireworks display

A combination of rain and “technical difficulties” shortened the City of Raleigh’s July 4th fireworks display at Dix Park on Thursday, and city officials say they will not be rescheduled.

After a blistering hot day, rain started falling about a half hour before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. fireworks show that had drawn thousands to the park. A DJ announced that the show had been canceled because of the threat of lightning, and people started to leave, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.

But when the rain subsided and it was clear lightning was not a threat, the city decided to go ahead with the fireworks, even as people were heading to their cars. The fireworks began but ended sooner than anyone expected.

“The City’s Fourth of July Fireworks show was not the grand display that we planned,” the city said in a statement late Thursday. “We initially had a rain delay and threat of lightning, and then technical difficulties shortened the show.”

The city did not elaborate on the technical difficulties.

The statement concluded: “The fireworks for this year have concluded and will not be rescheduled.”