Dust and smoke from Friday’s wildfires and storms blowing dust in the Southern Plains brought hazy skies to the Chicago area on Saturday, and poor air quality is being observed in Illinois and Indiana, the National Weather Service said.On Friday, parts of Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma wer e ravaged by hurricane-force winds and tornadoes that killed at least 16 people and leveled homes, the Associated Press reported. More than 100 million people were estimated to be affected, and evacuations were ordered in Oklahoma after fires broke out across the state.The storm kicked up dust across swaths of the south, and wind brought the dust north to Illinois, darkening the sky across much of the state."It's really dry. It just picked up a lot of dust and the wind direction came from there," National Weather Service meteorologist Brett Borchardt said. A line of severe thunderstorms hit the area late Friday and strong winds were predicted Saturday, but haze, dust and smoke in the air "played a role in preventing the highest winds from mixing down" in the morning, the weather service said.The Peoria and Rockford areas have normal visibility back, and Borchardt estimated the Chicago area would be clear of dust by sunset on Saturday.Poor air quality is being observed Saturday for the state and Indiana, and air quality is expected to be at unhealthy levels for everyone, the weather service posted on X. It's recommended people limit prolonged outdoor activity.After temps reached 79 degrees Friday, the mild temps continued Saturday but will plunge Sunday into high 30s and upper 40s, with even some accumulating snow possible, the weather service said. ...read more read less