Dinner En Blanc ... organisers are hoping the weather isn't too wet. Photo: Colleen Petch
Heavy rain and a chance of thunderstorms hasn't deterred organisers of Canberra's big weekend events, with Diner En Blanc and Ben and Jerry's Open Air Cinema among the events still planned to go ahead.
The Bureau of Meterology has forecast storms for Canberra from late morning into the evening on Saturday, with up to 30mm of rainfall expected in some areas.
Meterologist Sean Carson said the March storm season had been patchy but intense so far.
"A lot of the storms we've been seeing in NSW recently have been very impressive, with 20-30mm dropping in a short time if you're in the bullseye," he said.
Mr Carson said anyone planning an event for Saturday night should keep a close eye on the radar, but not cancel anything yet.
He said there was a good chance a severe storm warning would be issued for the ACT on Friday afternoon or Saturday.
"We expect storms to continue till the end of the month or until early April before they die down," he said
Despite the chance of rain, organisers for the Enlighten Festival's Diner En Blanc said the event would still happen, but they are stocking up on ponchos just in case.
Marketing and communications manager Adelina La Vita said the event organisers were keeping a close eye on the weather.
"The funny thing is they forecast thunderstorms today [Friday] and it's a gorgeous day, so we're hoping the weather gods will be kind to us tomorrow night," she said.
Ms La Vita said the event would still go on, rain, hail or shine, and if things looked grim they would encourage everyone to bring umbrellas or borrow a poncho.
She said a little bit of rain couldn't dampen the event.
"The excitement is palpable, we have so many questions on so many of our social media sites, asking questions up to the last minute," she said.
"Now it's all go for the preparations."
Ben and Jerry's Open Air Cinema has already cancelled four screenings during its Canberra season due to poor weather and thunderstorms.
But a spokeswoman for the event said they were pushing ahead with the last few screenings and would only cancel if it was dangerous to proceed.
"Scattered thunderstorms have been predicted the last few nights and have all managed to avoid us, touch wood the trend will continue tomorrow," she said.
"Unless anything major changes, everything will go ahead. We cancel only if it's dangerous to proceed and make an announcement around 4pm."
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