Wildfire smoke from Canada returns to northern US – AccuWeather.com/ar/

Less than a week after the latest round of Canadian wildfire smoke blacked out the skies of the Midwest and Northeast, triggering several air quality warnings, more ground-level smoke has returned to the United States. However, this time it covered a wider range across the northern states.

Air quality levels in the Northeast and Midwest had improved dramatically by Monday after the latest incursion of wildfire smoke, thanks to thunderstorms across the regions that expelled particles from the air. However, smoke is expected to move from the Rocky Mountains and Canadian Prairies into the adjacent northern Plains and northwestern U.S. through Wednesday, resulting in poor air quality and reduced visibility, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.

The smoke is expected to reach cities like Seattle. Helena, Montana; And Grand Forks, North Dakota.

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The Northeast and Midwest won't make it through the week without smoke clouding the skies, too. In the near term, poor air quality has been reported in some major cities such as Washington, D.C., New York City, and Detroit, mainly due to residual smoke from Fourth of July fireworks. While this will likely dissipate throughout the day Wednesday, air quality levels may be unhealthy for some during the morning hours.

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Later this week, there are some smoke risks as well as the possibility of poor air quality returning as a high surface slides into the upper Midwest, bringing northerly winds to the region and into the Northeast, AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer said.

“The overall pattern through at least the middle part of the month supports more smoke rings entering the Midwest and Northeast of Canada,” he said. “As a result, more frequent instances of poor air quality and hazy skies could occur in these areas.”

AccuWeather meteorologists are currently monitoring whether the Northeast and Midwest will experience the same level of smoke they did the week before. The latest indications are that while some high-level smoke in the form of hazy sunshine may return to the Northeast later this week, widespread low-level smoke from fires in eastern Canada could stick around until the end of this week or possibly later. From next week.

More than 600 active fires were burning across Canada as of Monday, according to the Canadian Interagency Wildfire Center (CIFFC). By Tuesday morning, the total area burned this year had reached more than 21 million. For context, South Carolina is approximately 20.5 million acres. The previous record was set in 1995 when wildfires burned more than 17.5 million acres across the country.

Of the active fires on Tuesday, more than 300 were considered “out of control.” Since the beginning of the year, there have been 3,313 cases across Canada, according to the CIFFC, most of which started from natural causes such as lightning strikes.

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