Update: Pops on the River still on schedule but weather puts damper on some fireworks shows

Fireworks go off marking the conclusion of Riverbend on Saturday, June 14, 2014.
Fireworks go off marking the conclusion of Riverbend on Saturday, June 14, 2014.

Canceled fireworks shows

* Collegedale Veterans Memorial Park - postponed until Sept. 7 * Fort Oglethorpe Patriotism at the Post - canceled * East Ridge "Camp Jordan Jam" - rescheduled for Aug. 1

photo A reader-submitted photo shows flooding along Hunter Road.

Relentless rain continued to pound the Chattanooga region on Thursday afternoon, causing flooding that closed roads throughout the area and dampened enthusiasm for fireworks shows.

Yet many held out hope for a break in the rain. Pops on the River, the Chattanooga fireworks show that takes place along the Tennessee River, is currently scheduled to go on as planned, a spokesperson said.

"Because we cannot schedule a rain date, we want to take this down to the wire on Saturday. The symphony members and other musicians will be there and will be prepared to perform, as long as it is not raining at the actual time of the show. We don't want to cancel things if there is any chance that they might still be able to occur," Carla Pritchard, owner of Chattanooga Presents, said in a news release.

The last five days of showers dumped up to eight inches of rain in the Tennessee Valley and meteorologists say the weather is only expected to get worse through the holiday weekend.

Expect heavy rain throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday, said David Hotz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn, with the worst weather expected each afternoon and evening during the hottest part of the day.

Some areas could get up to five inches of rain by Sunday along with gusty winds, lightening and flash flooding, Hotz said. The worst of the rain is expected to lighten by late Sunday.

As the skies opened on Thursday, some areas saw early signs of flooding that left a mess for cars on the roads. On Signal Mountain, a cellphone camera captured a waterfall of rain and dirt falling onto Taft Highway in the early afternoon.

In Bledsoe County, rain waters rushed across multiple residents' dirt and gravel driveways thickening into a muddy layer of grime that flooded State Route 30. Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said crews had to be called out to scoop the muck off the highway.

The National Weather Service put the Chattanooga region under a flood advisory at about 1 p.m. on Thursday, calling for urban and small stream flooding. The wider region, including parts of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, remained under a hazardous weather outlook on Thursday.

The agency called for more showers and thunderstorms as "yet another upper level disturbance" builds into the region during the day.

The main threat continues to be damaging wind gusts and heavy downpours, a trend that the NWS expects to continue - along with localized flash flooding - into July 4.

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