The gates to the Pitchfork Music Festival have reopened after an hour-long hiatus due to inclement weather

Organizers at the Pitchfork Music Festival announced that the gates to the festival reopened on Saturday night roughly an hour after the festival was halted due to potential weather extremes moving into the area.

At about 5 p.m., patrons were directed to the exits and told to seek shelter as a line of thunderstorms approached from the west. “Due to dangerous weather conditions, Pitchfork Festival is being evacuated,” the tweet announced in a since-deleted tweet. “Please leave the festival grounds quietly and quickly and seek shelter nearby.”

A short time later, the festival’s Twitter account gave an update, saying it was possible for the festival to resume. Twenty minutes later, the organizers announce that the gates will reopen and the artists’ performances will resume.

The National Weather Service said that isolated storms are expected in the area until seven in the evening, warning of the possibility of lightning, strong winds and small hail.

The three-day music festival runs through Sunday.

Originally posted: July 22, 2023 at 5:40 p.m