Canadian wildfire smoke chokes Midwest as flood threat looms in Carolinas
Some isolated spots saw more rain than that as nearly 6 inches fell in Burlington County, New Jersey.
Light rain is still falling across New England on Friday morning and this afternoon should be drier with mostly cloudy skies holding on over the region until overnight.
The risk for flooding now shifts to the Carolinas with heavy showers and thunderstorms beginning this afternoon and continuing overnight as rainfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour are possible.
Dallas-Fort Worth is also under risk for excessive rainfall on Friday afternoon and evening, with heavy showers and thunderstorms expected and flash flooding possible in the urban corridors.
Meanwhile, the Midwest is getting blanketed in wildfire smoke from Canada, leaving millions under dangerous breathing conditions as more than 650 wildfires are burning in Canada, with 275 labeled as 'out of control.'
Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit are in the top ten for worst air quality in the world among major cities on Friday morning and air quality alerts are in place for the entire states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and for parts of Nebraska and Missouri.
On Saturday afternoon, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are likely to have the worst of the smoke but hazy skies will remain across much of the Midwest.
In the West, fires burning north of the Grand Canyon and in Utah are creating poor air quality and hazy skies as the Dragon Bavo Fire along the north rim of the Grand Canyon has burned 112,000 acres and is currently 9% contained.
In central Utah, the Monroe Canyon Fire has burned 48,000 acres and is 7% contained as evacuation orders have been put in place.
A total of 23 million Americans across six states are under heat advisories on Friday as heat indices between 105 to 110 are expected from Louisiana to South Carolina.
In the Southwest, an extreme heat warning is in place for Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona as high temperatures between 107 and 114 are possible from Friday through until Sunday, though temperatures for the rest of the Midwest and East are expected to be rather mild this weekend.
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