SPECIAL WEATHER                    
 
Independence Day Weather:          
 
--The declaration was signed on this date in 1776 in Philadelphia, 
Pa. Thomas Jefferson signed the declaration and also paid for his 
first thermometer on this day. The weather during the signing was 
cloudy and the temperature was 76 degrees. The wind was blowing out 
of the southwest. This year, much of the mid-Atlantic will be dry for 
Fourth of July festivities, while showers continue across New 
England. Florida will have more stormy weather. Mother Nature's 
fireworks will be on display across the nation's midsection, where 
some severe storms are expected to ignite from the southern Plains 
into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. A few severe storms could also 
still develop along the Front Range of the Rockies. Otherwise, the 
interior West will be sunny and hot. The Pacific coast will stay 
comfortable.