Democrats eye rainy weather as Obama speech nears

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? Democrats are closely watching the forecasts as a rainy week unfolds ahead of President Barack Obama's speech accepting his party's nomination.

With Obama set to address supporters in Charlotte's open-air football stadium on Thursday, party officials insist the speech will go on even if it rains. After all, they said the stadium's main tenant, the NFL's Carolina Panthers, plays no matter the weather.

"We have an advisory team that's closely watching the weather, working with our team, and if any changes need to be made, we'll make them," said Jennifer Psaki, Obama's traveling press secretary.

The National Weather Service says there is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms Thursday night, but forecasters said it's impossible to pinpoint when and where storms will materialize. Obama is scheduled to speak around 10:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium.

Plans will only change if the weather turns severe, said Democratic National Convention Committee spokeswoman Joanne Peters.

"Safety is the top priority, and if we have to activate a contingency plan due to severe weather, we will make a determination with enough time for arrangements to be made," she said.

Organizers refused Tuesday to release any details about those contingency plans, including whether the president would speak somewhere else, what would be done with the 60,000 ticketholders for the event and how much time it would take to execute those plans.

Democrats have also worried for months about filling the stadium so crowd shots look good on television during the speech. They are bringing in busloads of church members and college students from North Carolina and South Carolina, but the threat of bad weather could keep people at home.

Obama's staffers dismissed that possibility Tuesday.

"We're absolutely confident we're going to have an energetic crowd, a full crowd, in the stadium Thursday evening," Psaki said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Democratic National Convention events are taking place indoors at the city's basketball arena.

Charlotte has had some rain every day since Saturday, and nearly an inch of rain fell in a sudden storm Monday. Both conventions have been plagued with rain. More than three inches fell in Tampa while delegates were there last week for the Republican gathering.

A downpour likely wouldn't be enough to bother Obama's speech, but the main worry is lightning. The storms possible Thursday night are ones typical for the South in late summer. They can pop up quickly and move slowly.

"The main concern would be any lightning near the stadium," said Jeffrey Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

For football games at the stadium, officials urge fans to go into the concourses when there is a threat of lightning.

Obama has given memorable speeches in the rain before. In July, he spoke to about 900 people during a campaign stop in Virginia, turning down an umbrella or a raincoat. He apologized to the women in the crowd for ruining their hair.

"We're gonna have to treat everybody to a salon visit after this" he quipped.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-eye-rainy-weather-obama-speech-nears-153356371.html

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