Majority of Canadian wildfire smoke expected in Upper Midwest on Thursday as air quality readings worsen
The dangerous situation is likely only to get worse as we head deeper into the summer months, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Wildfire smoke smothering Upper Midwest on Thursday
Canada wildfire smoke has returned to the U.S. as northerly winds have driven smoke down into the Upper Midwest. This northerly flow is in the wake of the system responsible for the ongoing rain and storms that have exited the Great Lakes and are moving across the Northeast.
Canada wildfire smoke has returned to the U.S. as northerly winds have driven smoke down into the Upper Midwest.
The dangerous situation is likely only to get worse as we head deeper into the summer months, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
The current northerly flow of wildfire smoke is in the wake of the system responsible for the ongoing rain and storms that have exited the Great Lakes and are moving across the Northeast.
A handful of cities in Minnesota, including Lakeville, Rochester, Saint Paul and Ham Lake, reached ‘unhealthy’ to ‘very unhealthy’ ranges Thursday morning.
NEW YORK, NORTHEAST COULD SEE ORANGE SKIES RETURN FROM CANADIAN WILDFIRE SMOKE
(FOX Weather)
As of Thursday morning, there were 107 fires burning in Quebec, the province’s fire agency noted. In northern Ontario, there are 63 active fires.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said the wildfire smoke could be seen in the area Thursday morning, along with a bit of river valley fog seen in the photo below.
A camera on the International Space Station even captured the smoke from wildfires burning in Quebec earlier this week as it drifted over Midwestern U.S. states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
120 MILLION AMERICANS LIVE IN A COMMUNITY WHERE AIR IS DEEMED UNHEALTHY
Smoke from wildfires burning in Quebec, Canada, was captured by a camera on the International Space Station on Monday, June 12, 2023.
(NASA)
Canada is in the midst of one of their worst fire seasons on record. The only year that rivals this year so far is 1995, when 17-plus million acres were charred.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, over 11 million acres have been burned this year so far, and it's important to note that the fire season hasn't even peaked yet.
Minneapolis spends Wednesday in unhealthy air quality
On Wednesday, parts of Minnesota, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, were experiencing "unhealthy for sensitive groups" or "unhealthy" air quality. To the northwest of Minneapolis, a few cities reached "very unhealthy" or code purple on the Air Quality Index.
Minneapolis was still seeing some pockets of very unhealthy air quality in and around the city early Thursday morning as smoke expands along the state line into southwestern Wisconsin.
"This is going to be the area where we do, in fact, have air quality alerts in place for the day today," FOX Weather meteorologist Jane Minar said. "In and around Minneapolis, we're sitting at about unhealthy ranges down towards Apple Valley, down to the south. That's where it is really dangerous to spend prolonged periods outdoors."
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(FOX Weather)
Twitter user @Jonathan_dfg captured video of the Minneapolis skyline on Wednesday as smoke blanketed downtown. The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said the smoke would make the skies hazy through Thursday.
THE AIR QUALITY INDEX EXPLAINED
Smoke blankets Minneapolis skyline as Canadian wildfires burn
Footage by Twitter user @Jonathan_dfg shows the smoke obscuring the Minneapolis skyline on Wednesday.
The highest concentration is expected to be over the Upper Midwest, where impacts to air quality are possible. Forecast models suggest this smoke could swing back into the Great Lakes and Northeast by Friday.
DOCTORS WARN THAT WILDFIRE SMOKE CAUSES ‘ACCELERATED SKIN AGING’
Canada wildfire smoke has returned to the U.S. as northerly winds have driven smoke down into the Upper Midwest.
(FOX Weather)
"You can see in our smoke trackers, we take things broad, bringing the Northeast back into play," Minar said. "We do have some wind shift, this dive of those southerly winds over the Canadian border, that is going to bring some haze off to the sky once again."
However, it won't be anything like what we've seen in the past week as far as those concentrations go, yet still something that could bring in some air quality concerns for sensitive people.