Air quality alerts in Mass., NH today. How hot will it get? NBC Boston [Video]

Summer heat comes on quickly today. Humidity will ramp up through the day and carry into part of the weekend.

The only caveat is a light sea breeze that will keep coastal communities below 90 degrees. This breeze will also push farther west tomorrow, becoming the trigger point for afternoon thunderstorms.

Today’s shower/storm threat is miniscule, however. We’ll still get the smoky haze from wildfires burning in Manitoba, but the skies won’t be as tinted as yesterday. This smoke will also be around for the weekend, but it’ll be harder to distinguish thanks to cloud cover.

Air quality alerts have been issued for three Massachusetts counties from 11 a.m. until midnight — Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. That encompasses communities like Boston, Foxboro, Gloucester, Lawrence and Norwood. Similar alerts are in effect for parts of Connecticut and Maine as well.

Air quality is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups, which …