RALEIGH, N.C. — We've all been there. You're sitting outside on the Fourth of July waiting for the fireworks show to start, and you feel a raindrop.

But did you know that there's more to forecasting fireworks than just rain?

During this time of the year, an afternoon thunderstorm is not uncommon, and it makes sense that we are cautious when it comes to planning our fireworks shows around the potential for lightning.

When daytime heating is the key ingredient in developing thunderstorms, we usually see showers dissipate just in time for the show.

You never hear of someone planning their fireworks show based on the humidity or on winds, but those play a critical role in our experience. Low humidity makes colors more vibrant!

Temperature inversions and winds blowing in the wrong direction can soak us in smoke if we’re in the wrong spot. Then there is fog or low clouds that could end up increasing the volume of the sound of the explosions.

Perhaps the most dangerous of all, however, is the recency of significant rainfall. If you’re in a drought, it’s a bad idea to shoot off fireworks!

Between 2014 and 2018, 59% of all fireworks fires resulted in brush, grass or forest fires across the United States.

Even sparklers are dangerous in recently dry conditions. A sparkler burns at 1,800 degrees - twice the temperature on the surface of the planet Venus during the daytime!

Lately, much of the Central Plains and Midwest have been in a long drought, but the southeastern United States has had sufficient rainfall to keep any sign of a drought away.

Even the West Coast isn’t seeing more than a severe drought, which is only what parts of Oregon are facing now. Only 28% of California is abnormally dry or worse and much of the northeast is in a moderate drought or better.

Whatever your plans are this Fourth of July, be safe and stay with Spectrum News for the latest forecast.