A blend of clouds and sunshine has enveloped much of the area today, and the air quality — while not perfect — isn't as hazardous as it was a few days ago, especially in eastern New England.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has plagued parts of the Northeast for a few weeks but got especially concentrated in the past several days. An upper level, low pressure system pushed the smoke from Eastern Canada to the south and west, leading New York City to have some of the worst air quality in the country.
You can see on the satellite loop below how the swirl in the atmosphere is circulating in a counterclockwise direction. As the smoke rises and gets caught up in this flow, it moves with it. This is why the air over Maine has been of higher quality than the air over New York. The smoke gets caught and moves south. If the low were in a different position, then the trajectory of the smoke would also move.
You can see from the air quality index below that the worst air quality is actually over western New England, and it gets even poorer as you head further south.
This is likely going to be the trend over the next few days, with the Mid-Atlantic seeing the worst of the smoke.
As we head into the weekend, the weather looks a bit mixed to start but should improve for Sunday.
Temperatures will be in the 60s on Friday and 65 to 70 on Saturday, with rain possible both days. If you're headed to any of the LGBTQ+ Pride events over the weekend, the best chance for showers will be Friday afternoon. Saturday afternoon showers will be much more limited, if they occur at all.
Sunday should be dry and warmer with highs 75 to 80 — generally, a nice early summer day.
