Smoke, storms to persist this weekend
Canadian wildfire smoke will continue to foul air quality this weekend as storms persist.
Wildfire smoke from Canada stole the spotlight as soccer fans from around the world visit New York City and New Jersey ahead of the final World Cup match.
Cool and warm air will battle across the Northeast into Sunday as more Canadian wildfire smoke degrades air quality.
This image was captured at midday on Friday, July 17, 2026, and shows a long plume of smoke extending southeastward across the Great Lakes and into the mid-Atlantic region. The source region of the wildfire smoke, just northwest of Lake Superior in Canada (upper left of center), was partially obscured by thunderstorm clouds. (AccuWeather RealVue™ Satellite)
Cooler, less humid air pushed southward from eastern Canada into New England, New York and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Thursday behind a cold front. The front also ushered in thick wildfire smoke, resulting in "dangerous" air quality from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to end the week.
As the cooler air collided with very warm, humid air across the mid-Atlantic on Saturday, widespread showers and severe thunderstorms developed across much of the region. Storms produced damaging winds from Indiana to southern New York and New Jersey, extending southward into North Carolina. Flash flooding also occurred, with numerous reports in and around the New York metropolitan area.
On Sunday, the main severe weather threat shifts to the Carolinas and southern Virginia, where storms may produce damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.
Somewhat cooler and less humid air will expand from the Great Lakes to New England, the central and northern parts of the Appalachians, including the Adirondacks, New England, and the Catskills to West Virginia, and the upper mid-Atlantic on Sunday.
On Monday, severe thunderstorms will become more widespread across the Midwest as another cold front pushes southeast from central Canada. From Michigan to Iowa and Indiana, Monday's storms may produce damaging wind gusts, tornadoes, large hail and flooding downpours.
On Tuesday, the severe weather threat will return to parts of the Northeast while extending westward across much of the Ohio Valley.
Powerful wind gusts and flash flooding will be the main threats on Tuesday from upstate New York and much of Pennsylvania and New Jersey to northern Tennessee and southeastern Illinois.
Storms unlikely to extinguish wildfires, 'air out' smoke
While severe thunderstorms into the early week will pose risks to lives and property, Canadian wildfire smoke will remain the biggest concern for tens of millions of people.
Dozens of fires ignited earlier in July by lightning strikes in dense forests northwest of Lake Superior, where drought is ongoing. Atmospheric conditions have not only carried dense smoke southeastward into the United States but have also mixed it down to ground level.
As winds shift, alternating plumes of smoke and cleaner air will move southeastward into the Great Lakes region and the Northeast states into the new week.
Shifting winds will push thick smoke away from New England and New York on Sunday.
Through Sunday, thick smoke is likely to cause poor air quality and respiratory and eye irritation across the western Great Lakes. Thick smoke may again pivot through the Northeast early this week.
Widespread, soaking rainfall or a wetter weather pattern would be one way to significantly reduce wildfire activity.
While parts of the fire zone received rain from Friday into Saturday and will again receive rain from Monday into Tuesday, the heaviest rainfall is expected to be spotty and tied to thunderstorms. Areas that miss out on soaking rain will remain vulnerable to new lightning-sparked wildfires.
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