Air quality on Long Island 'unhealthy' Friday from Canadian wildfires, thunderstorms in weekend forecast

Air quality on Long Island reached "unhealthy" levels on Friday morning as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to travel south into New York State and the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

As of 7 a.m., air quality indexes ranged between 150 to almost 200 on Long Island, a dangerous increase from conditions on Wednesday.

Meteorologist Jay Engel said that the service forecasts "hazy, filtered sunshine" during the day on Friday with highs in mid 80s.

Friday night should see lows in the 70s with partly cloudy conditions or "patchy smoke" in the skies.

A frontal system coming in this weekend could alleviate the air quality conditions, he added.

On Saturday, Long Island will see hazy conditions in the morning, but an 80% chance of widespread showers and thunderstorms will begin after 2 p.m. and last through the night.

Engel said Long Island can expect 1 to 2 inches of rainfall as well as potentially strong and gusty winds.

Dangerous rip currents are also possible on Saturday at ocean beaches, the service said.

On Sunday, skies will be party to mostly cloudy and gradually become sunny due to northwest winds — possibly in time for the FIFA 2026 World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at 3 p.m. between Argentina and Spain.

"We’re looking for some improvement on the air quality on Sunday," Engel said.

Sunny weather with highs in the mid-80s should continue into Monday and Tuesday, Engel said.