Satellite imagery showed smoke from Canadian wildfires once again flowing into the U.S., and while forecasters say it won't be as intense as last week, it may still impact air quality in several states.
Published Jun 13, 2023 11:40 AM PDT | Updated Jun 15, 2023 1:54 AM PDT
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires will return to the United States this week and lead to air quality concerns, AccuWeather forecasters warn.
Satellite imagery showed smoke from Ontario reaching down into the Upper Midwest Tuesday morning in a scene reminiscent of last week when heavy plumes of smoke were seen flowing over the eastern U.S., turning skies orange and leading to historically bad levels of air quality.
Smoke from wildfires in Ontario carried into the Upper Midwest on Tuesday morning, June 13.
"We may see some air quality issues over the next few days across the Upper Midwest, especially the eastern Dakotas through Minnesota and northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan due to some of the lower level smoke from numerous fires burning across northern and northwestern Ontario," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
On Monday, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre was at a national preparedness level of five, the highest level of wildfire activity response, as fires continued to blaze across the nation.
Wildfires have burned over 12.3 million acres since the start of the year, roughly 158,676 of which were in Ontario. This week, winds from the north and northeast will carry the smoke from those fires in the province into the Upper Midwest due to the combination of high pressure over the northern Plains and low pressure over the Northeast.
The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. AccuWeather forecasters say the smoke carried into the Upper Midwest this week won't be as intense as the smoke in the Northeast last week. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
While the low-level smoke may raise pollution levels, Anderson said the impact this week may not be as extreme as it was in the Northeast last week. He attributed this to the blazes being small, albeit numerous. Ontario had over 70 active fires Tuesday, according to the CIFFC.
He added that some high-level smoke from fires in northern Alberta and northern Saskatchewan is filtering into the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. However, it will likely have little to no impact on air quality while still setting up hazy sunsets and sunrises.
The smoke won't stay long either, as the combination of storms and a shifting of the winds will reduce the smoke over U.S. skies, especially by Friday. Residents of areas impacted by the smoke can see their local air quality forecast here and keep tabs on where the smoke is headed here.
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