Destructive storms hit the Midwest as extreme heat dome puts 165 million in danger

Adding to the already degraded air quality is wildfire smoke from Canada.

A series of storms has been moving from North and South Dakota through Minnesota and Iowa and into Illinois and has been tearing down trees, damaging buildings and taking down power lines.

More than 170,000 customers are without power across South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin as of Tuesday morning.

Wind gusts stronger than 90 mph have been reported in Spencer, Iowa, as winds are gusting over 75 mph in parts of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, with one tornado having been confirmed ripping through Dixon, South Dakota, though these storms are expected to die down over the next few hours along the Iowa and Illinois border.

Meanwhile, a frontal boundary in the Midwest will continue to interact and feed off the strong heat dome over the South, creating severe thunderstorms capable of damaging wind and flash flooding throughout the day and this evening from Montana to Iowa.

The line of storms may continue surging east straight into and through Wednesday and storms are expected to begin late Tuesday afternoon across southern Montana, Wyoming, western Nebraska, eastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas.

Storms will then push through South Dakota and the entire state length of Nebraska through the evening, reaching Iowa by midnight and nearing the Illinois border by 7 a.m. on Wednesday, potentially bringing with it thunderstorms to the Chicago area on Wednesday afternoon.

Elsewhere, in the Northeast, showers and thunderstorms are possible Wednesday through Friday, with some storms bringing damaging winds and flash flooding.

This comes as the heat dome continues to be eroded to the south, cooling the area from the high heat but angering the atmosphere in the process.

As often happens during times of extreme heat, the air quality along the I-95 corridor is down to unhealthy levels for sensitive groups, with much of this due to pollution from human-caused emissions.

Adding to the already degraded air quality is wildfire smoke from Canada as a new plume of smoke may create an additional haze to the sky Tuesday afternoon and continue into Wednesday.

The heat dome that is centered over the South will slowly erode this week, each day getting cooler from the north to the south, but those still under the heat must remain vigilant to the extreme heat.

More than 165 million Americans are on alert for dangerous heat and humidity from Nebraska to New Hampshire and Florida.

Extreme heat warnings are also in place from New Orleans to St. Louis with heat indices up to 116 possible.

Florida may also experience some of the highest heat index values today, with temperatures that feels like 116 degrees possible for places like Jacksonville and Orlando.

In the Northeast, heat advisories are in place from Pennsylvania to Maine as heat indices could reach between 95 and 105 degrees.

The rest of the area under heat advisories across the Midwest and South could reach heat indices between 100 and 110 today.

By the weekend, extreme heat should be sequestered to the Gulf Coast and the Southwest, with much of the rest of the country in seasonal summer heat or potentially below average.