Everything you wanted to know about weather but never googled!

4 Event Planning is ALWAYS watching the weather. It doesn't matter if a show is inside or outside! We want to know what to expect. We like sunny and comfortable for outside shows and are happy with overcast for inside shows! If there is any concern at all then we will start discussing options with the organization during the week, however a call to cancel will never happen before 6pm the Thursday prior to the event because forecasts can't be trusted. Even then, a last minute call may happen on Friday which is why you should always be checking for an email from us if weather turns questionable.

What would cause a cancellation? It takes a lot - hazardous weather such as flooding onsite, thunder & lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes (and even that depends on timing), and of course a pandemic! We have canceled events too early in the past and the day turned out beautiful and we missed out on what would have been a fantastic event yet have had huge success during the rain!

We use weather.com because it uses 'Watson' (IBM's famous super computer) and we only look at the hourly forecast, never the daily. Why? If a day calls for rain, that could mean any time from mid-night to mid-night and may never affect an event. Hourly is the only way to make this decision (along with other details listed below).

There is a big difference in terms that are used by meteorologists to pay attention to. For instance:

Rain vs Showers-
*When a forecast calls for 'Rain' it is a more widespread event. Most, if not all, of the area will see rain and it could last for a while.
*'Showers' on the other hand are more scattered. Showers usually mean that not everyone will be getting wet at the same time. It could be raining in Hampton but not in Yorktown. Showers tend to be much shorter in duration -- anywhere from a minute to an hour.

Isolated vs Scattered - are terms that refer to the area of coverage of the precipitation event.
*'Scattered' is used to reference precipitation that is occurring across 1/8 through 1/2 of the total area covered by a forecast.
*'Isolated' refers to precipitation whose coverage is less than 1/8 of this area.
*'Likely', refers to precipitation whose coverage ranges from 5/8 through 6/8 of the total area under consideration.
*Precipitation mentioned without a coverage qualifier refers to precipitation that is occurring across 7/8 or more of the area (this one may catch our attention!).

'Chance'- There is ALWAYS a percentage attached to a forecast. It could be 0% (which we really like) or 40%. Keep in mind that if there is 40% chance of precipitation then there is a 60% chance there won't be any at all.

All of these factors are taken into consideration when deciding what to do. We do not like to cancel since there are no refunds. We feel obligated to allow the vendors to make the choice that best suits them. HOWEVER, we will cancel a show (or at least the outside portion of it) IF there is threat of thunder, lightning, high winds or other hazardous conditions during the hours of the event.

Why don't we give refunds? Your fee goes to pay for the event. Vendor fees are used to pay for permits, rentals, advertising, insurance, sometimes space rental, food purchased, donation to the cause, and other expenses. We do not get refunds for the money we have spent to hold the event. This is the same reason that we don't move the event to another date. Vendors, organizations, venues who may have been available for one day may not be for another and then we basically have to start from scratch.

Thank you for your understanding and note that 4 Event Planning does not take your time, efforts or safety lightly. We care for each of our vendors and want them to have the best outcome of an event as possible.