Minneapolis, Chicago keep smoky streak of days atop world's worst air quality readings into weekend

Wildfire smoke continues to pour into the Midwest

Minneapolis and Chicago are again atop the world rankings for worst air quality as northerly winds continue to push Canadian wildfire smoke into the Upper Midwest.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to choke the skies over the Upper Midwest this weekend, with the milky haze even starting to spread south into the Ohio and central Mississippi valleys -- and even into Oklahoma.

Air quality alerts still cover all of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa, along with parts of Nebraska, northern Indiana and the Chicago area as particulate readings range from unhealthy for sensitive groups to just plain unhealthy levels for everyone.

Air Quality Alerts

(FOX Weather)

As has been the case for several days, Minneapolis and Chicago ranked high on the list of worst air quality readings among major cities across the world on Saturday, according to IQ Air.

The smoke is coming south out of Canada courtesy of northerly winds behind the cold front, which is slicing through the eastern half of the country. The timing is especially a bummer for residents who endured days of extreme heat and humidity in recent days, only to now be stuck inside dodging smoke while cooler, more pleasant weather has returned.

The smoke will be most concentrated across the Midwest on Saturday. The Northeast, which has had its own bouts with wildfire smoke this summer, will largely escape any smoke issues through the first half of Saturday, due to the presence of a northeast wind.

Air Quality Readings

However, the FOX Forecast Center says the wind is expected to shift back to the northwest during the latter half of Saturday, and smoke may once again return to the region on Sunday, especially for northern New England.

A wind shift is on the way for the Midwest too, but won't be much of a help at first.

"Good news: Winds will turn out of the south (Saturday) night, gradually pushing the wildfire smoke northwards," the National Weather Service in Minneapolis posted on X while announcing air quality alerts had been extended into Sunday. "Bad news: There is smoke as far south as Kansas and Missouri, so it will take a few days to fully clear out the haze."

The fires burning in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have been ongoing all summer, and they have sent smoke into the U.S. on multiple occasions so far.  The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reports there are over 700 active fires burning in Canada, of which 500 are burning out of control. So far, the fires have burned over 16 million acres.

Meanwhile, to the West, those across Utah and Colorado will also deal with smoke issues as a direct result of the fires burning in Utah and northern Arizona, the FOX Forecast Center says. The reduced air quality will be felt up and down the populated Interstate 25 corridor in Colorado, which includes Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.