Wawa Welcome America cancels Independence Mall concert Sunday ahead of expected severe storms

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for New Castle County, Del., on Sunday evening. The agency also predicts severe thunderstorms throughout the Philadelphia area. The storms, part of a wet and windy weather pattern that meteorologists have been anticipating for days, had impacts across the region.

Wawa Welcome America canceled Sunday’s gospel concert on Independence Mall due to severe thunderstorms and potentially damaging winds in the forecast.

The Gospel on Independence event was planned for 6 p.m. on Day 14 of the Wawa Welcome America festivities that draw tourists from all over to Philadelphia for the Fourth of July holiday.

The stormy weather, which initially was predicted to start after 4 p.m., was expected to spare the 1:35 p.m. Phillies game against the Nationals. However, a brief downpour just after 3 p.m. caused officials to pause the game for about 20 minutes.

“The main show is going to be later this afternoon into early evening,” said Eric Hoeflich, meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office. He said Sunday morning that damaging wind gusts were likely, with “hit or miss” strong to severe thunderstorms.

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“We have relatively high confidence that there will be severe storms in our area ... but it’s not going to be a widespread event,” Hoeflich said. He said the storms would likely move through the city by 8 p.m.

Hail is a “secondary threat,” along with a “very low” chance of a tornado, Hoeflich said.