Over 900 wildfires burning across Canada are producing dense smoke that is affecting air quality in more than a dozen U.S. states as of Saturday morning, July 18, 2026. Air quality alerts extend from the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region to New England, continuing south through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

The Midwest and Upper Great Lakes are expected to experience poor air quality throughout the weekend due to northwesterly winds pushing the smoke plume into these areas. Major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor, including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., could also be impacted.

Dense smoke from these Canadian wildfires obscured the skyline of the National Mall on July 17, with landmarks such as the U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial seen through haze from the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia. In response, President Trump criticized Canada's handling of the fires and proposed tariffs against the country.

In addition to the smoke, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe storms across parts of the Ohio Valley, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic. A severe storm threat extends into parts of Virginia and the Carolinas, where scattered storms could bring damaging winds and heavy rainfall, potentially affecting cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Virginia Beach.

Elsewhere, monsoonal moisture is expected to bring thunderstorms capable of heavy rainfall and flash flooding from West Texas and southern New Mexico into central and northern Arizona and southern Utah.

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