Smoke From Wildfires Out West Moves to the East in Coming Days

Posted: September 15, 2022 11:05 am

Even though the wildfires are burning thousands of miles away, the smoke from some of the blazes out West could carry into the northern Plains, Midwest, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast in the coming days. Do you need to be worried about the air quality conditions in your area? Read this for more information.

Over 90 Large Wildfires Currently Burning in the West

High winds swirling in the atmosphere could carry the smoke from dozens of wildfires across the country. The latest data from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) is reporting that there are over 90 large wildfires and fire complexes raging in the western portion of the nation. The bulk of the fires are burning in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon.

Other than those areas directly surrounding the fires, the region of the U.S. most likely to see the blowing smoke is the north-central portion of the country. The smoke is already drifting into the northern Plains, the Upper Midwest, and the Great Lakes. Forecasters are warning that a small amount of this smoke may spread into the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast by the end of the week.

While it was likely not not apparent to most healthy individuals, a thin layer of haze from the smoke spread through the north-central U.S. on Wednesday. Cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis saw an air quality forecast of “fair” for the day, indicating that the conditions were mostly acceptable for healthy individuals. However, sensitive groups may be experiencing mild or moderate symptoms if they spend too much time outdoors because of the presence of pollutants floating in the atmosphere.

The silver lining of the smoky conditions is the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that the haze creates. You are most likely to notice the different colors in the sky when the sun is closer to the horizon. This is because the particles from the smoke are able to move more of the radiation from the sun. This movement translates to more red-wavelength light being let into the atmosphere, creating the vivid colors that appear in the morning and evening hours.

Cloudy Conditions in North-Central U.S. May Obscure Smoke

While a good amount of high-level smoke is forecast to move through the Dakotas and Minnesota on Thursday, the forecast of cloudy conditions may make this smoke largely unnoticeable. This part of the country may also see rain and thunderstorms that block out the smoke.

This is not the first time that smoke from fires burning on the West Coast carried this far to the east. A similar weather pattern set up during the summer of 2021 when smoke from the massive Dixie Fire in California was carried across the nation’s heartland and as far as the Atlantic Ocean and Western Europe. This fire was responsible for burning over 963,000 acres, distinguishing it as the second-largest fire in state history.

Even if the smoke is originating from thousands of miles away, the fine particles can still filter down to the Earth’s surface and trigger health problems for vulnerable individuals. While it is not likely that this smoke event will reach as far as the particles from the Dixie Fire, compromised individuals throughout the central and eastern U.S. should keep an eye on the air quality index in their area in the coming days as an extra precaution.

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