Hurricane Arthur May Make 4th of July Holiday Driving Hazardous

If you're planning on traveling over the Fourth of July to the East Coast, watch out for Arthur.

The first named tropical storm of the season may make driving hazardous on Wednesday and Thursday but should not spoil most of Friday's festivities, as it veers away from land.

Arthur looks like it will spare the colossal fireworks show on Washington's National Mall, weather forecasters say, whisking past the day before.

The storm is expected to morph into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday, farther south off the coast of North Carolina, with top wind speeds of 75 mph.

But it is predicted to track north of the capital and off to the east in time for Washington's show.

If predictions turn out to be off by a day, the nation could get live television coverage of the season's first hurricane.

PBS is planning to broadcast the pyrotechnics blossoming over the Reflecting Pool live via 20 cameras.

Storm clouds on Arthur's coattails might throw rain on the Independence Day parade around noon on Friday. There's a 30% chance, the National Weather Service said.

But after sundown, the skies should be mostly clear and cool. Most of the East Coast should share in the good conditions late Friday.