ROCKINGHAM — Add the Richmond Senior High School annual Homecoming parade to the list of weekend events being canceled or postponed.
Kylie McDonald, public information officer for Richmond County Schools, made the announcement early Wednesday afternoon.
“Based on discussions with local law enforcement and fire departments, we have determined to cancel the Homecoming parade, allowing them to turn their attention toward preparing for the upcoming storm,” McDonald said in a press release.
She added that officials are “anticipating that the weather will cooperate” for the Homecoming football game, which had already been moved up to Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The junior varsity game, which is usually played on Thursday, will be tonight at Hoke County High School.
The Richmond County Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday that Hoptoberfest is rescheduled for Oct. 8 and Rockingham Dragway earlier today canceled its event.
Rain and gusty winds are expected to start moving into Richmond County late Thursday night, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Rain and thunderstorms are predicted for all day Friday, with wind gusts up to 32 mph, as Hurricane Ian moves northward.
The current forecast track has the storm making landfall on the gulf coast of Florida Wednesday afternoon, cutting across the state at a northeast angle, skirting the coast and making landfall again around Beaufort, South Carolina.
From there, Hurricane Ian is expected to move north, with the eye of the storm around Spartanburg, South Carolina at 8 a.m. Saturday and around Wilkesboro early Sunday morning.
