One interesting note from the SPC’s Saturday outlook: Wildfire smoke remains a forecast uncertainty. New guidance suggests it should thin during the afternoon, allowing more sunshine, greater instability, and increasing confidence in severe storm development.

The SPC has upgraded parts of the Ohio Valley, Lower Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic to an Enhanced Risk (3/5) for severe storms Saturday. Why? Confidence is increasing that storms will organize into damaging lines capable of producing widespread wind damage. A few tornadoes are also possible.

Wildfire smoke could become one of the biggest weather stories surrounding Sunday’s World Cup Final. Air quality is already Unhealthy (red) in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Think of it like spending hours downwind of a campfire. A storyline worth watching...

More than 86 million people are at risk of severe weather on SATURDAY across parts of the Mid-Atlantic and eastern U.S. A Slight Risk (Level 2 out of 5, yellow) is in place. The primary threat will be widespread damaging wind gusts, with a few tornadoes possible from parts of PA into NY.

Be sure to have Air Quality Index Alerts turned ON to be notified of deteriorating air quality!

The reason? The jet stream is flowing directly over the wildfire region, transporting smoke high in the atmosphere into the northeastern U.S. That’s why skies are turning hazy and air quality is deteriorating so far from the fires themselves.

Smoke from Ontario wildfires is reducing air quality across parts of the Northeast, including New York City. Track it for free with MyRadar’s Wildfires layer, featuring reported wildfires, satellite detected hotspots, and Smoke Hazards showing where the heaviest smoke is expected.

The National Hurricane Center is watching a disturbance that could develop over the northeastern Gulf this weekend. Odds of formation remain low at 20% over the next 7 days. Heavy rain may become the bigger story. Arthur is still the Atlantic’s only named storm, with Bertha next on the list.

Toggle on the "Storm Chasers/Live Cameras" layer to see the MyRadar Camera Network on the app. Then, just tap on any camera to view it!

Wildfires continue to burn across parts of Colorado, with evacuations in some areas and smoke impacting communities across the region. You can track the fires yourself using the Satellite layer in the MyRadar app, where active wildfire smoke is clearly visible from space.

A tornado touched down near Beaver, Oklahoma on Thursday as severe thunderstorms moved across the High Plains. This video from MyRadar storm chaser @jordanhallwx.bsky.social shows the tornado on the ground for a brief time, but just as fast as it appeared, it was gone!

An Enhanced Risk (3/5, orange) is in place for parts of eastern Colorado and southeast Wyoming today. Risks include very large hail up to 3.5 inches, damaging winds over 75 mph, and a few tornadoes this afternoon/evening.

New in MyRadar 7.122 🚨 SPC Outlooks are better than ever! Switch between categorical, tornado, wind, and hail outlooks for Days 1–3, and quickly access the full SPC forecast discussion. Available now for free in Layers > SPC Outlooks. Update today!

PDS TORNADO ONGOING 9 miles north of Bloomington, Indiana. A debris ball can be seen BOTH on Correlation Coefficient and Reflectivity. It is likely rain wrapped, and as night grows darker, you will not be able to see it. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY in this warning!

The massive fire that just broke out at a storage unit in Los Angeles produced a large, black plume of smoke. We can actually see it here on radar. "Echo Tops" show that the smoke plume has reached all the way up to 8,000 or 9,000 feet.

CONFIRMED DAMAGING TORNADO south of "Town of Oregon", Wisconsin. The tornado is deeply embedded in a squall line and is rain wrapped. Heading towards Brooklyn, WI. This is the SAME storm that impacted Harpers Ferry and the IA/WI border with a PDS tornado earlier today.

PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION and CONFIRMED tornado just west of Charleston, Illinois. TAKE COVER NOW! This is a LIFE THREATENING SITUATION heading towards Ashmore, Westfield, and Kansas, Illinois.

DESTRUCTIVE thunderstorm heading for Arcola and Humboldt, Illinois. 80 MPH wind gusts and BASEBALL sized hail are possible with this storm. Take shelter immediately and avoid windows.

PDS TORNADO north of Harpers Ferry, Iowa, entering Wisconsin. Notice a stark blue "debris ball", which shows debris being lofted into the atmosphere. This storm is comparatively north where the left-most edge of the jet streak exit region is producing the strongest vertical motion.

The first CONFIRMED TORNADO of the day was identified just north of Springfield, Illinois. If you live in Mechanicsburg, Dawson, or Illiopolis, Illinois, TAKE SHELTER NOW!

The tallest storm of the day so far is in...western Missouri? Even though it is well away from the Moderate Risk, this storm sits in an environment with extremely high CAPE values — fueled by high dew points and hot temperatures. It is tornado warned, along with multiple other cells in Missouri.

The FIRST tornado warning of the day has been issued over Monticello, Cisco, and Tolono, southwest of Champaign, Illinois. The storm appears to be elevated — low surface dew points make it difficult for any condensation or rotation to reach the surface. Still rotating heavily.

A new Tornado Watch (yellow) is in effect until 10 PM CDT for parts of Missouri and Illinois, including the St. Louis metro. Several strong tornadoes are possible this afternoon and evening, along with hail up to the size of apples and damaging wind gusts up to 75 mph.

JUST IN: Tropical Storm Arthur has formed off the coast of Texas with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Arthur is forecast to move inland and bring heavy rain and dangerous flash flooding along the Texas coastline over the next few days.

A Tornado Watch (yellow) is in effect for parts of Illinois and Missouri until 3:00 CDT. Strong tornadoes, destructive winds up to 85 mph, and hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter are possible.

🪫 There's currently more than 164,000 customers without power across Illinois following multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. (Big shout out to Outage Pro for their excellent data!)

TORNADO EMERGENCY for LaRose, Illinois! This is a LIFE OR DEATH situation! Seek shelter RIGHT NOW! Lowest floor of your home, Interior room, no windows!

Here's a look at the funnel cloud from meteorologist @matthewcappucci.bsky.social:

The Storm Prediction Center has keyed in on the next hour as the window for a potential strong tornado to develop. The supercell they are monitoring is already under a Tornado Warning and has produced a funnel cloud.