Rainy weather could put damper on outdoor graduations
CAMBRIDGE - Graduation weekend is here for many of the schools and universities in our area but with wild weather on the way what could that mean for commencements?
"It's been a long journey," said computer science major Thomas Fisher. He's watching the wild weekend weather and has analyzed the risk of rain on graduation day. "I'm bringing an umbrella to graduation, of course."
MIT will hold undergrad commencement Friday on Killian Court, where hundreds of students will celebrate a long few years.
"Going to college through Covid was very hectic. All kinds of resilience you get from that. We're going to use that same attitude at graduation," said Fisher.
The whole Fisher family will be in attendance, rain or shine.
"This comes only once in a lifetime, of course I'm not going anywhere," said Fisher's dad.
MIT isn't the only institution risking the rain. Bridgewater-Raynham High School is also holding graduation Friday night.
"It's always such a great time, our kids are amazing," said Interm Superintendent Ryan Powers. He's also watching the weather closely, planning for every scenario so students can celebrate.
"We were originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. ceremony. Plan B a lot of times is we look towards Saturday," said Powers.
But the weekend is also promising major storms so now what?
"This weekend is throwing a wrench into that plan," said Powers. He promised not to cancel; instead they'll adjust.
"Maybe move it up by an hour starting it at 5 p.m. Our hope is that we can get the ceremony in," said Powers.
Some schools have canceled commencement completely because of the rain while others are risking it anyway. For them, there's a solution. Local companies like Peak Event Services putting up tents across our area.
"We are definitely getting a lot of phone calls today in regards to tent needs for the weekend," said Tarryn Prosper at Peak Event Services. She says the company is covering more than 100,000 students across New England with their weatherproof tents.
"The tents are rated to withstand winds much higher than you would even want to even be outside in," said Prosper.
But just in case they're watching the weather too.
"We have 24-hour access to a meteorology team only because we don't want to bother the NEXT weather team and Eric," said Prosper.
While plans are in place, schools are ready to adjust to make sure their grads get the commencement they deserve.