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4 best apps to make your family’s Fourth of July better

Dawn Miller
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The Fourth of July is a huge summertime celebration. There’s backyard grilling for family and friends, picnics, 5K’s, lawn games, and, of course, fireworks. A lot of preparation and food shopping goes into making your Fourth of July festivities sparkle. Don’t let yours fizzle like a bad firecracker because of traffic jams, grilling accidents, or getting caught in a rain shower while waiting for the fireworks to start. Yes, there are Fourth of July apps to help ensure your Fourth of July parties or firework excursions go off with a bang. From firework apps to grilling apps to an app to make sure the family dodges any raindrops or thunderstorms, we’ve got the best apps for your smartphone or iPad to make your July 4 stand tall like Lady Liberty.

Family enjoying fireworks at night
FamVeld/Shutterstock

Cave Tools BBQ Recipe Journal

Before you head out to watch the fireworks, you know the grill will be fired up with all sorts of dishes. Be the ultimate grill master with Cave Tools BBQ Recipe Journal. With this comprehensive grilling app, you get access to delicious recipes shared by the Cave Tools grill-loving community, a meat smoking guide, a meat temperature guide, and three integrated timers to help make sure your dishes are grilled to perfection. Another plus to adding this app to your smartphone menu is its price. The app is free to download.

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Waze

When it is time to pack up the car to drive to the nearest or most fabulous fireworks display in the area, make sure to have the Waze app before pulling out of the driveway. It’s rated tops for keeping drivers updated on accidents, road closures, and other annoying traffic issues that can make you miss the fireworks, or worse, not be able to get a parking space. Traffic updates are in real-time. The app is free to download, but it is notorious for draining battery life quickly, so be sure to have a charger on hand in the car.

Weather apps

Mother Nature really can rain on any outdoor activity. Staying updated on the weather and those fast-moving thunderstorms in the summertime is a big plus on the Fourth of July. Dark Sky is a highly rated weather app that gives you that hyperlocal forecast you crave, along with a minute-by-minute forecast so you know if you need to make a mad dash to the car. The app is compatible with iPhones, iPads, and the Apple Watch. It will cost you to download though. If you prefer a free weather app, try the Weather Channel app. It does have advertising and in-app purchases but is free to download and will give you a decent forecast.

Fireworks Arcade

While some love the bang and sparkle of the Fourth of July, others not so much. Fireworks can be torture for young children, people on the autism spectrum, and others diagnosed with disorders like misophonia and phonophobia, which cause sufferers to be super sensitive to loud sounds. Fourth of July fireworks also make dogs and cats crazy. With a cool fireworks app like Fireworks Arcade, users can enjoy the best of both worlds. You can watch the beauty of a fireworks display without the noise from anywhere. Kids who are afraid of fireworks can watch a fun display from the comfort of their own backyard. If you have to stay home for the furbabies, you can still savor the excitement of fireworks while keeping the pets calm. The app by Big Duck Games is free and does include in-app purchases. It also features games.

A great deal of preparation goes into organizing a fun day of festivities on the Fourth of July. Apps are a convenient way to help ensure the planned activities go off without a hitch. Leave putting the bang into the Fourth of July to the pros. With these easy-to-navigate apps, you have traffic, weather and grilling covered. If you, the kids and pets stress over fireworks, make your own display right on your smartphone or iPad with the Fireworks Arcade app. There isn’t a reason to stress over the Fourth of July holiday because yes, there is an app for that.

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