Poor air quality persisted in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states on Saturday, as smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in Minnesota and Canada continued to spread and envelop skylines.

This week, unprecedented temperatures that set records throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are now being replaced by a concerning new hazard — intense storms and possible widespread flooding in eight states,

Dangerous wildfire smoke is filling the skies from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. And in some areas, conditions are expected to worsen. Through Friday, more than 115 million people are forecast to be exposed to air quality levels that are unhealthy or worse as winds funnel smoke south from out-of-control fires in Canada and Minnesota — and a heat dome traps that smoke near the ground.

The Environmental Protection Agency marked the air quality indices of at least 14 states and Washington, D.C., as anywhere from "unhealthy" to "hazardous" on Thursday as smoke from Canadian wildfires moved further south into the United States.

Ontario drifts over the US

The emergency orders from Energy Secretary Chris Wright come as a heat dome expands across the eastern United States, with forecasters warning of dangerous temperatures in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Millions of people across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are waking up to hazy skies, reduced visibility and unhealthy air quality as smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires continues streaming into the United States. From Pennsylvania and New Jersey to ...

More than 115 million people may be exposed to dangerous smoke and unhealthy air quality levels. That's because wildfire smoke is spreading and triggering health advisories in at least 17 states from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.

The smoke pouring into the U.S. made Detroit, Chicago and D.C. among the world's most polluted major cities as of early Friday.

As a punishing heatwave bakes major East Coast cities, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed data centers in the mid-Atlantic this week to use their backup power supplies instead of using electricity from the public grid,