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- Sweet relief for many in the eastern U.S. as heat shifts west
Sweet relief for many in the eastern U.S. as heat shifts west
With pleasant air comes wildfire smoke.
Ian Livingston
August 01, 2025
August often gets a bad rap as a summer month despite offering some of the first tastes of the cool season to come. We’re getting one of those tastes in the eastern U.S. as the work week closes — and the weekend is looking fantastic. Meanwhile, heat is on the move, as is Canada wildfire smoke.
Weather watch
It was the coolest morning in quite a while for many.
Shifting heat. A big break in the onslaught of summer has arrived for many in the eastern U.S., outside the South, at least. Heat is migrating westward in days ahead. Extreme heat warnings are up for Phoenix with watches for other parts of the region, where it’ll turn hotter into next week.
Heat info from NWS Phoenix.
Hawaii wind. As tropical cyclones pass well south, and with high pressure north, trade winds are ripping on the islands. Gusts around 40 mph are possible Friday which could help fuel any fires that form. Red flag warnings are up for the fire risk, as are surf alerts for waves 10 to 14 feet in height on southern shores.
Lightning links
Flash Floods Swamp Roads In The Northeast And Mid-Atlantic As Severe Thunderstorms Drop Heavy Rain. (Renee Straker, The Weather Channel)
Grand Canyon Wildfire Becomes A 'Megafire'. (Sean Breslin, The Weather Channel)
515-mile ‘megaflash’ from Texas to Missouri confirmed as world’s longest lightning bolt. (Andrew Wulfeck, Fox Weather)
Where there’s smoke
My latest on Canada wildfires and their smoke delivery was published Thursday. The season is now the third worst on record since 1983, when it comes to acreage burned, and it is poised for second worst behind the unfathomable 2023.
Smoke on early Thursday.
One of the more significant invasions of the summer occurred yesterday and continues Friday. Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit were all bathed in Code Red conditions and locally worse. It was enough to get these cities into the top several for worst air on the globe.
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Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster. Connecting weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.
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