Millions of Americans continue this Sunday under high temperature alerts and at risk from intense rains and severe storms, after bad weather marred the Independence Day celebrations the day before and forced events to be modified or canceled.

"High temperatures are again expected today in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Lower Mississippi Valley regions. Heat advisories have been issued," the National Weather Service (NWS) reported.

According to the agency, this Sunday's storms "could leave heavy to torrential rains from parts of the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic regions, which may cause flooding in some areas," so extreme vigilance is recommended.

“Severe storms pose a risk of damaging wind gusts in the Mid-Atlantic region during the day today,” the NWS added.

A wave of extreme heat and suffocating humidity has affected 70% of the United States this weekend, complicating the celebration of events for the 250th anniversary of Independence, this July 4th.

Cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington, which hosted many of the biggest events of the holiday, recorded record temperatures of 38 and 39 degrees Celsius, with an even greater thermal sensation.

Given the risk, the authorities of Philadelphia and Washington canceled the traditional parades for the date, one of the most important in the North American country's calendar and among the busiest holiday weekends. The celebration program in much of the territory had to be modified.

In the capital, severe storm alerts and electrical shocks forced the evacuation of the Great American State Fair, the FIFA Fan Zone and the venue where hundreds were waiting for President Donald Trump's speech on the National Mall on Saturday afternoon for about two hours.

After the confusion of an audience that had to seek shelter in nearby buildings and then go through security filters again to re-enter the area, Trump spoke around midnight, an hour later than planned on a stage placed near the George Washington Monument.

His speech in the form of a political rally was followed by a historic fireworks display, the largest in the history of the capital and with which the Administration hopes to break a world record. According to the organizers, some 850,000 pyrotechnic projectiles were fired at the show.

Washington and areas of the nearby states of Maryland and Virginia are under alert due to poor air quality and the presence of pollutants.

According to internal documents from the National Park Service reviewed by The Washington Post, amid the heat and high humidity levels, smoke and particles from fireworks were expected to cause dangerous levels of pollution and “very unhealthy” conditions in the capital area. EFE

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