Hazy, Hot and Humid Holiday

There was a rainy start to the Fourth of July holiday and storms returned in the evening, after a hot and humid day in Connecticut.

Stamford and Greenwich experienced thunderstorms and there were downpours in Pomfret.

Storms in Burlington produced wind gusts of up to 63 miles per hour at the airport and New Haven and the Naugatuck Valley experienced downpours.

But, between the morning and evening storms, it was a beautiful day.

Some beachgoers lined up early to get into Rocky Neck State Park for the holiday.

Lining up more than an hour before the gate opened was one way to guarantee a spot on the beach because several reached capacity quickly.

By late morning, Wadsworth Falls in Middlefield, Indian Wells in Shelton, Kent Falls, Pattaconk Lake, Millers Pond and Squantz Pond were already full and parking was getting tight at Sherwood Island. 

Throughout the day Twitter informed residents when beaches were getting crowded.

Beaches were not the only places to celebrate Independence Day.

The state Capitol building was the place to be for the ringing of a replica of the Liberty Bell.

Truxton Brodhead, of Niantic, a descendant of Declaration Independence signer George Reed, participated in the ceremony, which began at 1:45 p.m. at the south entrance.

Mystic Seaport helped people celebrate this Independence Day for a little less money by cutting the price of admission to $14. There was a parade at 1 p.m. and there were many activities going on all day.

If a parade was on your agenda, Groton and Willimantic were good places to be.

The annual W.I.L.I. Boom Box parade in Willimantic started at 11 a.m. It's said to be the largest parade of its kind in the world.

In 1986, parade organizers were not able to get a marching band for the Memorial Day parade, so five weeks later, WILI played marching band music over the air and people marched with their boom boxes playing the music. Twenty-six years later, the tradition is going strong.

The annual 4th of July Parade in Groton started at 10 a.m. from the area of the Poquonnock Plains and proceeded west on Route 1, to the Groton Shopping Plaza. 

Tonight, enjoy fireworks. Many towns and cities will be setting them off tonight and over the next couple of weeks.

We want your holiday photos. You can send them to us at photos@nbcconnecticut.com. 

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