FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill closes early as severe storms approach Philadelphia
The FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill wil close for the remainder of the day Saturday as severe storms are expected to move into the Philadelphia region.
The festival opened at 4 p.m. as scheduled for fans to watch the third-place match between France and England which started at 5 p.m.
Unfortunately, storms are expected to begin to ramp up, according to our NEXT Weather team. This is when the atmosphere could become unstable enough to produce isolated supercell thunderstorms capable of creating tornadoes and microbursts.
During the France-England match, spectators were notified to seek shelter as a thunderstorm with lightning approaches.
The festval plans to reopen on Sunday for the World Cup Final between Argentina and Spain.
Extreme weather has disrupted the festival throughout the tournament. Organizers have adjusted schedules and, at times, closed the venue entirely. The disruptions were most notable during a historic heat wave and severe storms July 4 holiday weekend.
On Friday, fans still turned out despite hazy skies and poor air quality caused by wildfire smoke in Canada and Minnesota.
The storm has also delayed the Phillies-Mets game at Citizens Bank Park. The game was at the bottom on the 7th inning when the rain delay was called. The game, originally scheduled to start at 4:05, was moved up an hour to avoid the rain.
