Temperatures across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are set to rise on Wednesday, with highs approaching the upper 90s and the PJM power grid likely to see a sharp increase in electricity demand as air-conditioning use is set to climb through the afternoon.

Cooler temperatures are expected to follow in the days ahead, but relief may be short-lived as wildfire smoke threatens to spread across the region by the end of the week, potentially degrading air quality.

Meteorologist Ben Noll wrote in a note earlier that smoke from out-of-control blazes in western Ontario and northern Minnesota is expected to pour into New York's Hudson Valley beginning Wednesday afternoon.

A much larger and denser smoke plume is forecast to arrive late week across much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Air quality readings (as of Wednesday morning): 

More from Noll:

This smoke is forecast to drift south and east on Wednesday night, reaching Philadelphia and then potentially Baltimore, D.C. and Boston by Thursday morning.

Wind flows are expected to continue blowing smoke of varying intensity into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic through Friday, before a brief shift in winds on Saturday may blow some of the smoke away.

Of note, Noll did not attribute the heat and wildfires to climate change, as some lefty journalists only know how to do. We must note that an El Niño is emerging. 

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers from Minnesota and Wisconsin have blamed Canada's horrible forest-management policies for contributing to years of out-of-control wildfires and recurring toxic smoke plumes across the US.