EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (AP) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires that engulfed the Northeast US in haze is expected to mostly clear from the New Jersey area just in time for the World Cup final on Sunday thanks to thunderstorms passing through, meteorologists said.

Still, warnings of unhealthy air remained in effect Saturday across a wide swath of the United States, and US President Donald Trump continued to lay blame on Canada for the smoke crossing the border.

Trump, who planned to attend the cup final, threatened to impose tariffs in response, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized that as unacceptable and shortsighted.

At MetLife Stadium, where the World Cup final is scheduled to take place, the sky was the same thick, soupy gray it has been for days, even after a drenching thunderstorm prompted warnings of flash flooding and forced the Spanish national team to suspend its last outdoor training session ahead of the clash with Argentina.

After the rain cleared, Netherlands tourists Joost Timpers and his two sons were among fans taking photos outside the open-air venue, which has been renamed the New York/New Jersey Stadium for the matches.

They did not have tickets to the final but biked more than an hour from their hotel just to see the arena up close. Timpers said he was certain players and fans will fare just fine even if conditions do not improve.

“We’re not experts in air quality, of course, but we are experiencing the quality now,” he said. “I didn’t experience anything different from cycling in the Netherlands or anywhere else.”

Saturday’s storm front will largely move the smoke out of the Northeast before the final between Spain and Argentina, said Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.

“There could be some lingering smoke that would make things hazy, but very faint,” Roys said. “In terms of the thickest smoke, the smoke that has really been eye-popping and leads to poor air quality, that is not expected across New York City or........

© The Times of Israel