Could Wamego’s Boomtown show be hit by severe weather?

WAMEGO (KSNT) – With severe weather a possibility for northeast Kansas this Fourth of July, some firework shows might be impacted.

One firework show already taking the possibility into consideration is Kansas’ largest firework show: Wamego’s Boomtown. It attracts thousands of people to Wamego, giving a big boost to local business.

KSNT 27 News Stormtrack Meteorologist Becky Taylor reported that sunny weather is expected throughout Tuesday with a front moving in later in the evening. Taylor said thunderstorms are a possibility as they could move through northwestern Kansas around 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight and reaching the I-70 corridor around midnight.

The Wamego Fireworks Show team posted to social media around 9:50 a.m. that it is aware of the possibility of severe weather.

“We have had, and will continue to have meetings with the National Weather Service and local emergency management throughout the day. It is too early to make any adjustments in schedules at this time.”

Wamego Fireworks Show social media statement excerpt

The post said the fireworks show is still set to take place as planned, though the timing may be adjusted. Organizer Chris Hupe says people can keep up with updates on weather and how it is impacting Boomtown by checking in with the Wamego Fireworks Show’s Facebook.

“Public safety is the number one priority,” Hupe said. “The question is, do we have enough time after the firework show to get people back to their vehicles and to safety. That’s what we’re looking at. That’ll determine what we do.”

Phil Stultz, Wamego’s Fire Chief, said organizers and city leaders will be meeting this afternoon until 2 p.m. discussing contingency plans regarding the possibility of storms tonight. He said in years past, there were as many as 40,000 to 50,000 people attending the show.

“We don’t want to scare people, but we want to know what plan A, B, C, and D are,” Stultz said. “It’ll be chaos, but it’ll be controlled chaos.”

To keep up with alerts regarding the show, you can go to the Wamego Fireworks Show’s Facebook page by clicking here.