4 things to know about the weather:

1. Weather Alert for wildfire smoke, heat advisory and PM storms
2. Air quality will improve this afternoon
3. Expect feels-like temperatures over 100°
4. Scattered, strong storms between 3-7 p.m.

Poor air quality, high heat and a chance for strong storms may affect your Saturday plans.

Air quality started code red, which is unhealthy, in much of the region. Code red means everyone should limit time outdoors, especially if doing strenuous activities, experts say. Expect air quality to shift from one neighborhood to the next and throughout the day.

Overall, a code orange air quality alert is in effect, which means conditions are unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Southwest winds will increase, and the change in wind direction will improve the air quality but bring high humidity along with it. A heat advisory has been issued.

Highs will get back into the low 90s with a heat index topping 100° before storms finally arrive.

Locally strong to severe storms will be capable of producing very heavy rain and the risk of urban and flash flooding. Rain chances will remain low for the morning hours, but all bets are off after 2-3 p.m. and storms will be widespread from 4- 5 p.m. onward.

Storms will linger into late Saturday night before tapering off around sunrise Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon and Monday will turn out to be quite nice, followed by a humid and stormy Tuesday.

Weather radar

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

QuickCast

TODAY
WEATHER ALERT | Smoky | Hot & Humid | 40% Chance PM Storms
HIGHS: Mid 90s

TONIGHT
Partly Cloudy | Storms Ending
Temps: 70s Area-Wide

SUNDAY
Partly Sunny
HIGHS: Upper 80s

MONDAY
Partly Sunny
HIGHS: Upper 80s

TUESDAY
Partly Sunny | Scattered Showers & Storms (40% Chance)
HIGHS: Lower 90s

SUNSET: 8:31
Averages: 89/73F

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

NEW YORK – Millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states muddled through another day of unhealthy air from uncontrolled wildfires on Friday.

The thick smoke enveloped the nation’s capital in a gloomy, eerie haze and prompted Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians to postpone their game against Pittsburgh Pirates in Ohio.

Warnings of dangerous conditions were expected to remain in effect through Saturday across a wide swath of the U.S., though there’s potential for temporary improvement with storms forecast in some affected areas during the weekend.

D.C. resident Stewart Verdery awoke Friday to take in his usual sunrise view of the city’s famous landmarks from a rooftop, only to be greeted by a darkened horizon and no monuments in sight.

“It’s pretty crazy to wake up at sunrise and not see the sun when it’s not even raining,” he said by phone after posting a video of the surreal scene on X. “And it smells like somebody’s having the world’s largest cookout.”

No end in sight for smoky conditions

There may be pockets of relief at times, such as this weekend, but the smoky conditions won’t be gone anytime soon as the fires continue to burn largely unchecked, cautioned Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service based in Maryland.

Wildfires are burning in the Ontario area of Canada as well as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, which U.S. officials have closed as they fight to put out the blazes.

“The source of the smoke is going to continue on for certainly a week, probably,” Oravec said. “It’s just going to depend upon which way the wind’s blowing as to where the smoke is going to affect the most.”

On Friday, communities in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, including Detroit, again registered some of the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir, an air quality monitoring website.

Not far behind Detroit was Washington, D.C., where the smoke created eerie scenes. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and other national landmarks were enveloped in an orange-hued haze throughout much of the day.

People, particularly those with heart or lung disease, older adults and children, were urged to limit or avoid going outside until air quality improved.

Long-term exposure to smoky conditions can complicate existing health problems and lead to chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases and premature death, officials warned.

For Maria Travela, Friday was her first day outside since after smoke from the wildfires blanketed the Chicago area early Thursday.

“Now it’s better. This morning, it was bad,” said Travela, who has asthma and wore a mask as she crossed a bridge over the Chicago River downtown. “They were saying that, for people like me, with asthma, any kind of issues like that, it would be bad for your lungs.”

Trump criticizes Canada

Hundreds of wildfires are burning in Canada, including about 190 in northern Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference. Flames destroyed the Namaygoosisagagun First Nation community, and 10 northern Ontario communities have been evacuated or were being evacuated, with more possible.

The increase of fire in vast Canadian forests has largely been blamed on climate change.

In response to the smoke, U.S. President Donald Trump made a social media post Friday that blamed Canada for its forest management and threatened additional tariffs on Canada.

The Canadian government didn’t initially respond to questions about Trump’s comments.

Asked about a Michigan lawmaker’s criticism about the smoke, Ford noted Canada has helped the U.S. fight fires in the past.

“If there’s some politicians out there chirping away, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends and that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Ford said.

Conditions should improve for Sunday’s World Cup final

In the New York City area, there was also concern about how the smoky air might impact Sunday’s World Cup final between soccer powerhouses Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Oravec said winds will continue pushing the wildfire smoke east in the U.S., though conditions should be better on game day than on Saturday.

On Thursday, a thick haze tinged with orange and yellow darkened skies across several states and partly obscured Manhattan’s skyline.

Officials from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other Northeast states distributed free K95 face masks, canceled outdoor programming and opened libraries and other public buildings as cooling centers where people could get a respite from the sooty air.

As Friday progressed, air quality measures improved from “unhealthy” to “moderate” in some places in and around New York City. A strong sun broke through a thin veil of smoke, and clear blue sky was visible across much of the region by Friday afternoon.

Rainstorms could bring reprieve in some places

Saturday brings a high chance of thunderstorms across much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, which will help dampen the bad air.

Organizers of the All-American Soap Box Derby in Ohio hope air quality improves enough to allow for Saturday’s championship races. The major annual competition in Akron scrubbed Friday’s events over air quality concerns.

“I think they made the right choice,” said Dayna Lincoln, a pediatric nurse practitioner from Hodgdon, Maine, whose family drove 15 hours for their 9-year-old daughter’s race on Saturday.

“I’m glad they’re not forcing the kids out into it,” she said. “There are kids with asthma and adults with respiratory conditions who could really suffer.”

___

Associated Press reporters Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Cybele Mayes-Osterman in Chicago contributed to this story.

The NTT IndyCar Series is gearing up to hit the streets of Washington, D.C., for the first time Aug. 23, and now we know when the green flag will wave.

There is no question about it: The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., is going to be a full-on spectacle as cars race past some of the most iconic monuments our nation has to offer.

It’s getting the level of coverage it deserves.

TRUMP TOUTS INDYCAR DRIVERS’ ‘SPECIAL’ ABILITY AT FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX SHOWCASE, SEEMINGLY ENDING HOT DEBATE

Practice sessions 1 and 2 will air Saturday, Aug. 22, on FS1 and FS2, respectively. Qualifying will take place that evening from 5-6:30 p.m. ET on FS2.

Then, Sunday morning, the IndyCar broadcast booth regulars — lap-by-lap commentator Will Buxton and former drivers-turned-broadcasters Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe — will call the warmup from 9-10 a.m. ET on FS1.

After that, expanded pre-race coverage will get underway on FOX at 11:30 a.m. ET, with the race getting started shortly after 1 p.m. ET.

SCOTT DIXON LEAVING CHIP GANASSI RACING THROWS A HUGE WRENCH INTO INDYCAR’S SILLY SEASON

On top of the IndyCar action, the International Race of Champions, or IROC, will make its return as a support series for the weekend. 

That race is scheduled for Saturday with IndyCar greats Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan taking part alongside NASCAR legends Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott using the same Pontiac Firebirds the original IROC series used from 1996 to 2006.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

There’s a lot of excitement around this one-of-a-kind addition to the 2026 IndyCar calendar, and, this week, reigning series champ Alex Palou, Indy 500 champ Felix Rosenqvist and Team Penske’s David Malukas were all at the White House to meet with President Donald Trump and to knock out some pit stop practice.

IndyCar has another big weekend ahead. The series heads to Nashville Superspeedway for the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, which will air on FOX immediately after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final.