Communities postpone July 4th fireworks; severe weather concerns

Multiple communities made the decision on Monday, July 4 to postpone their local fireworks displays over concerns about severe weather. The weather canceled or postponed events throughout southeast Wisconsin. 

Shorewood's Atwater Park would have been full Monday night for the fireworks, but forecasted storms canceled the show.

Normally, Atwater Park is a coveted place to be on the Fourth of July.

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Other communities postponing their July 4 fireworks displays: 

"Look around," said Tony Cotraro. "I don’t know if you can see how popular this is, so you want to get here early."

The Cotraro family claimed their spot at 7 a.m. Monday. Mini Aussie, Roonie, worked security. By 5 p.m., they were back, with their tarp serving a different purpose.

Shorewood was among the many communities where the fireworks were canceled because of forecasted storms.

"The kids were looking forward to it," said Everybody loves fireworks, right?"

"It’s understandable," said Oscar Wille of Shorewood. "You got to do what you got to do. Celebrate in other ways, I guess."

Wille wrapped up his spot around 3 p.m. He said this has been a tradition in his family for multiple generations.

"Just all the families, and getting together and actually, you know, different people, people you know, people you don’t know and then people from different communities that actually come in and enjoy it, too, which is always kind of nice," said Wille. "It’s been well attended for as long as I can remember, since I was a little kid."

Two members of his family didn't mind the change in plans.

"They’ll be glad to miss the fireworks, but the thunder and lightning may replace that in terms of their own anxiety, so it might be a rough night for them either way," said Wille.

The Village of Shorewood said to watch its social media pages to see an update on when the fireworks will be rescheduled. 

Multiple communities made the decision on Monday, July 4 to postpone their local fireworks displays over concerns about severe weather that is forecasted for the evening.