Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires is forecast to spread into the eastern United States today and tomorrow; as a result, the next 48 hours will be filled with darker, overcast skies with an abundance of particulate matter resulting in unhealthy air even at the surface. According to authorities in Canada, excessive heat and drought over the country have developed more than 3,000 fires as of yesterday, with 1.9 million hectares or 4.7 million acres of land scorched. Authorities say today, more than 110 of those fires are classified as burning completely out of control.
Most of the fires in Canada are centered over northwestern Ontario province, where more than 145 fires are actively burning now. There are also fires in western Canada in Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces, but most of the smoke that is forecast to pour south across the Canada/U.S. border is from Ontario province.
The National Weather Service in the U.S. has been tracking the smoke plumes and say the worst of it should be over portions of the eastern U.S. today and tomorrow. More heat and humidity is expected for the Northern Plains and Great Lakes with daily maximums holding steady in the 90s to lower 100s for the next few days. However, cooler air will penetrate deeper into New England today under gusty westerly winds behind a cold front followed by a reinforcing shot of cooler air by Friday morning with the passage of a second cold front. Unfortunately, the influx of cooler air will also bring smoke from Canadian wildfires into the northeastern quarter of the country.
With arriving smoke, millions of Americans across the Upper Midwest and Northeast are under strict air quality alerts. Heavy smoke has cast an eerie orange haze over major hubs from Minneapolis and Chicago to New York City and Boston and more of the same is expected into the start of the weekend.
While the National Weather Service is communicating air quality advisory alerts, it is individual state authorities issuing them. In places like Pennsylvania , the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Code Red Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates, from midnight tonight to midnight Thursday night. In air quality alerts, they write, “An Air Quality Action Day means that air quality within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.” In the Garden State, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Ground Level Ozone and Fine Particulates until midnight tonight. In New York, The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at Albany has issued a Air Quality Health Advisory for Fine Particulates until midnight tonight. “Air quality levels in outdoor air are predicted to be greater than an air quality index value of 100 for Fine Particulates. The air quality index…or AQI…was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale. The higher the AQI value, the greater the health concern,” authorities in New York said. “When pollution levels are elevated…the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. People who may be especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants include the very young and those with pre existing respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease. Those with symptoms should consider consulting their personal physician.”
Depending on the future progress of the wildfires and fire fighting efforts against them, as well as weather patterns over North America, more bouts of smoke may return over portions of the United States in the days and weeks ahead beyond the upcoming weekend.
