Annual Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade Canceled Due To Anticipated High Winds

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- The annual Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade has been canceled for Saturday evening due to anticipated high winds, the club said on its website.

"Gale warnings are in place, and even though this weather incident may prove short-lived as it passes through our area later today, parade organizers have determined that the parade should be canceled out of an abundance of caution. Although everyone is disappointed, safety is the foremost concern, and the protection of our volunteers and participants comes first," commodore Liz Filter and Dan McQuay, general manager, wrote in a statement.

While there is no parade, the club has asked participants to turn their lights on from where they are docked. The club will judge the participants as they stay in place and present awards Sunday at the Skippers Brunch. The People's Choice and Shearwater Up the Creek awards are not able to be presented.

The event is an annual tradition of boats illuminated with Christmas lights as they parade through Annapolis Harbor.

High winds ranging between 15 mph and 25 mph with gusts near 40 mph to 55 mph are expected Saturday.

The temperature at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport hit a new record of 72 degrees Saturday, and temperatures still could continue to rise.

In:
• Annapolis
• High Winds
• Anne Arundel County