Postponed: St. Patrick's Day Parade In Morris County Now Set For March 19

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade waited three years to return. But it'll have to wait one more week.

While organizers held hope that some wet weather wouldn't rain on their parade, they decided Friday to push the much-anticipated event to March 19. The schedule for the day remains the same, with the parade kicking off at noon from Town Hall (200 South St.).

Related article: Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade Returns: Complete Guide

"We’ve waited this long, what’s another week?" the parade committee said in its announcement.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church (91 Maple Ave.) will still hold its St. Patrick's Day Parade mass at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Forecasters expect a rainy day Saturday — the original day for the Morristown parade — which has prompted postponements of St. Patrick's Day parades throughout New Jersey. Snow may also enter the picture Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Here's the National Weather Service's weekend forecast for Morristown as of 10 a.m. Friday:

• Saturday: Rain before 2 p.m., then rain and snow between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., then snow after 3 p.m. Temperature falling to around 31 by 4 p.m. Breezy, with a northwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half-inch possible.
• Saturday night: A chance of snow before 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17. Blustery, with a west wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half-inch possible.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
• Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27.

The Morris County parade is perhaps the holiday's biggest in the state, drawing tens of thousands each year. Parades the past two years got canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.

The event has been "rain or shine" unless extreme weather conditions render it unsafe, according to its website. Since the Morris County parade began in 1979, the event has only been postponed twice because of weather — in 1993 because of a snow state of emergency and in 2010 because of severe conditions.

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