Organizers keeping an eye on TS Arthur while prepping for 4th celebration

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Mayor Marty Walsh said he wasn't ruling out the possibility of moving Boston's 4th of July celebrations to Thursday to avoid Tropical Storm Arthur.

Officials will decide Wednesday whether or not to change the date of Thursday's rehearsal, but decisions on whether or not to change the date of the actual celebration have not been made. For now, organizers have begun preparing the Esplanade to keep it safe and prepare for anything Mother Nature might bring.

Fireworks barges are on the river, filled with fireworks, ready to go, and many people have said that inclement weather won't change their Fourth of July plans.

Wind and rain are both factors into whether or not the performance will go on, said event producer Richard McDonald. If the rain was coming down hard enough to impact the instruments in the Hatch Shell, it would be an issue, he said. The fireworks can be set off unless there is a sustained wind of 20 miles per hour or more.

Security around the Esplanade will remain high this year. Backpacks, coolers on wheels, glass containers or cans and alcohol will not be permitted at the celebration. New for 2014, bicycles will not be allowed in the oval or lagoon areas, and bicycles in other areas cannot be unattended. Boats also won't be allowed between the Mass. Ave bridge and the fireworks barges.

Also new this year, a text-to-tip line has been set up. Anyone at the Esplanade or in the area can text B4 to 67283 if they see anything suspicious.

In 2012, a thunderstorm sent spectators rushing for cover in the Storrow Drive tunnel.

Cox Media Group