Over 100 million Americans are grappling with cloudy skies on Friday night
Many Americans are currently choked by thick wildfire smoke, but relief could be on the horizon for some as the July 4th big weekend begins. June 30, 2023.
NEW YORK CITY – More than 100 million Americans are currently choked by thick wildfire smoke, but relief could be on the horizon for some when the July 4th big weekend begins.
Cities with the worst Air Quality Index (AQI) scores on Friday night were New York City, as well as Wayne County and Angola on the Lake in the Empire State, Mendham Township in New Jersey and Houston City in Pennsylvania. Each of these cities had an AQI score of Unhealthy, the third worst score in the AQI Index.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds the Statue of Liberty on June 30, 2023 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado)
The sun rises from a cloud as smoke obscures the Lower Manhattan skyline and One World Trade Center in New York City on June 30, 2023, as viewed from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn)
The sun rises from a cloud as smoke obscures the Lower Manhattan skyline and One World Trade Center in New York City on June 30, 2023, as viewed from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn)
Smoke shrouds the Lower Manhattan skyline and One World Trade Center as the sun rises in New York City on June 30, 2023 as viewed from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn)
The smoke-covered Atlanta skyline on Friday, June 30, 2023. (Billy Heath)
The smoke-covered Atlanta skyline on Friday, June 30, 2023. (Billy Heath)
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires clouds the sky over JFK International Airport on June 30, 2023 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado)
The smoke-covered Atlanta skyline on Friday, June 30, 2023. (Billy Heath)
Wildfire smoke in Albany, New York. (@NYCRobyn/Twitter)
Sunrise in Albany, New York tinged with wildfire smoke. (@NYCRobyn/Twitter)
The smoky skyline of Cleveland on Friday, June 30, 2023. (NWS Cleveland)
Smoke from wildfires in Canada obscures the sun as it sets over 42nd Street on June 29, 2023 in New York City. (Gary Hershorn)
Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds buildings beyond midtown Manhattan in Queens, taken from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building on June 29, 2023 in New York City. (Gary Hershorn)
Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds Hudson Yards and buildings on the west side of Midtown Manhattan taken from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building on June 29, 2023 in New York City. (Gary Hershorn)
Air quality is at unhealthy levels due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires in New York, United States, on June 29, 2023. Officials said air quality could deteriorate in the coming days. (Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency)
Air quality is at unhealthy levels due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires in New York, United States, on June 29, 2023. Officials said air quality could deteriorate in the coming days. (Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency)
Air quality is at unhealthy levels due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires in New York, United States, on June 29, 2023. Officials said air quality could deteriorate in the coming days. (Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency)
Air quality is at unhealthy levels due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires in New York, United States, on June 29, 2023. Officials said air quality could deteriorate in the coming days. (Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency)
A woman crosses Northwest 13th Street as smoke from the Canadian wildfires amorphizes the cityscape in Washington, DC. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)
The Capitol dome has a blurred shape as seen from Maryland Avenue to the southwest as smoke from the Canadian wildfires descends on the Washington, DC area. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)
In the foreground are a man and a woman, in the background lies the foggy city of New York covered in forest fires and smoke. June 29, 2023. (Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency)
On Wednesday, June 29, 2023, smoke from a wildfire turns the sky orange over Hubertus, Wisconsin. (Eileen Worman via Storyful)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 28: Wildfire smoke clouds the skyline on June 28, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago area is on an air quality warning as smoke from Canada’s wildfires has blanketed the city for the second straight day. (Scott Olson)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 28: Wildfire smoke clouds the skyline on June 28, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago area is on an air quality warning as smoke from Canada’s wildfires has blanketed the city for the second straight day. (Scott Olson)
Poor air quality will continue to move east through the weekend, meaning smoke will continue to clear for many Americans as the holiday weekend begins.
AIR QUALITY TRACKER: HOW BAD IS THE SMOKY AIR AROUND YOUR AREA?
The hardest-hit areas include Michigan, Indiana, and parts of Ohio and Kentucky.
In the Northeast: West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC; A health alert is in place for Maryland, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
In the Southeast, communities in North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama will be affected through Friday night.
Until air quality warnings were lifted, health experts warned those with unhealthy air quality to limit their outdoor activities to reduce the effects of the toxic air.
What to do when wildfire smoke is suffocating your area and how to keep the air in your home clean.
It can cause respiratory problems and breathing difficulties for sensitive health groups.
Relief in sight?
Even though the smoke will clear by the weekend of July 4th, air quality concerns remain, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
“As we get into Saturday morning, you can see the smoke expanding even further and possibly creating a light haze in the sky,” said FOX Weather meteorologist Kelly Costa.
The map below shows the wildfire smoke. By Saturday evening, skies will be much clearer and smoke-free across much of the Great Lakes, while skies will be smokier along the Atlantic Seaboard.
How the smoke moved across the land
Air quality improved significantly Thursday evening and Friday across much of Illinois south of Chicago, Indiana, western Ohio and Kentucky after Thursday’s fierce winds associated with a derecho cleaned the atmosphere.
Winds from the derecho failed to reach Cleveland, which woke up to smoky skies on Friday where air quality warnings remained in effect in northeast Ohio. The unhealthy air led to health warnings being issued for many communities, and more than 120 million Americans were placed under air quality warnings Thursday.
Air quality warnings were in effect as far south as Atlanta on Friday afternoon as a plume of smoke from wildfires spread along the Appalachian Mountains. The air quality there reached the value “unhealthy” in the air quality index with values over 150.
The smoke-covered Atlanta skyline on Friday, June 30, 2023. (Photo credit: Billy Heath) (FOX Weather)
Further north, several states in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes areas, including all of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Michigan, West Virginia and New Jersey, were still on air quality warnings as of Friday afternoon.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has declared an air quality day of action for Friday because of wildfire smoke and ozone pollution.