An Air Quality Alert remained in effect for all of Ohio on Thursday as smoke from Canadian wildfires lingered overhead and kept skies hazy across Columbus and beyond. The alert was still active through the evening, with reduced visibility possible at times and poor air quality posing the biggest concern for sensitive groups.
That is why the warning is drawing attention now: people across Ohio are dealing with smoke in the air on a day when conditions are still unsettled, and the problem is not just the haze. Temperatures were expected to slowly fall through the 80s Thursday evening before settling into the lower 70s overnight, but the smoke was expected to linger into the night and remain a concern into Saturday morning, especially for people with asthma or other respiratory issues.
The weather pattern offers only partial relief. Smoke from Canadian wildfires may continue to create hazy conditions early on Saturday, even as the day turns hot and humid again with afternoon highs near 90. Scattered thunderstorms were expected later Saturday, and a few of them could become severe, with damaging winds, heavy rain and localized flash flooding among the main threats. Those storms were also expected to help push some wildfire smoke out of the area.
That mix makes the day harder to read than a simple air-quality advisory. Ohio is facing poor air and hazy skies at the same time that storms could briefly improve visibility, but also bring their own hazards. By Sunday, noticeably drier air was expected to arrive behind the cold front, with sunshine and highs in the low-mid 80s, giving the state its clearest break from the smoke and humidity so far.
For now, the answer to when the alert ends is tied to that weekend change in the air mass. The smoke is expected to ease as the front moves through and drier air settles in, but another cold front is already expected on Tuesday, bringing another chance for showers and thunderstorms before cooler air returns for the rest of the workweek.
