Here is the satellite picture from 5pm this afternoon.  There are many features that stand out on this map including numerous thunderstorms over Pennsylvania stretching along the Appalachains all the way into North Carolina.  Also, the next line of thunderstorms back through Ohio and Kentucky associated with the cold front which will affect us tomorrow afternoon and evening.  You can see the clockwise flow around the area of high pressure if you take the path from eastern South Carolina and follow the cloud lines northward all the way into West Virginia.  Even the little things, such as the sea breeze as you can see the cloud line not only in the middle of the Delmarva, but a little better to the south along the coastlines of North Carolina and South Carolina.  There is even a thunderstorm which initiated along the sea breeze front down in South Carolina.

What I see is something that stands out, as it usually isn't seen very often around these parts, and is more often seen in California.  I'm talking about the huge plume of smoke in eastern North Carolina which spreads eastward and then northward all the way into the DC area.  This has been the main reason for such a haze about the region during the day on Friday.  We also recieved multiple reports of smoke from our viewers, and surface observations were reporting smoke all day from Richmond to Roanoke and southward.  These large fires in eastern NC have been going for a few days, but when the winds finally shifted to southerly, it allowed for it to make a move to the north and come overhead. 

So what can we expect for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend?  I think we will get out of this haze finally tomorrow night as the cold front shown to our west pushes through.  Showers and thunderstorms can be expected, a few of which may become strong to severe, with damaging winds as the primary threat.