HARTFORD, Conn. — Our sky has been a little hazy or milky at times this week, creating vivid sunrises and sunsets.
The cause? Massive fires, burning nearly 1 million acres of land in western Canada in the last two weeks.
The wildfires, burning in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, are more than 2,000 miles away from New England, as the crow flies.
It’s not unusual for western wildfire smoke to travel over our sky, dimming the sun.
The path the smoke is taking this time is unique, thanks to the jet stream, the high-altitude layer of strong winds which steer storms, and in this case, wildfire smoke high in the atmosphere.
For the last few days, the smoke has been traveling north out of Alberta, catching a ride on the jet stream, and traveling over part of the Article Circle. Then, the jet stream takes a hard turn south, with winds guiding the smoke from northwest to southeast over Hudson Bay, Ontario, and Quebec. This trajectory takes it over New England. All told it’s a journey more than 3,500 miles long!
For Connecticut, the impact of this wildfire smoke is minimal because it is so high in the atmosphere.
When it passes overhead, it dims the sun and can make for pretty vivid scenes at sunrise and sunset.
If the smoke is thick enough, it can lower daytime high temperatures.
As of right now, there is no impact on air quality here at the ground, because the particles are high enough up.
It looks like this smoke will meander in our sky at varying thicknesses through at least Thursday or Friday.
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