3 days ago
Canadian wildfires sending smoke into parts of Midwest, including Ohio
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As wildfires rage in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Midwest is starting to see the impacts of the blaze nearly a thousand miles away.
The fires started last month and have burned millions of acres of land across Canada, and with the current weather pattern, that smoke made its way into the Miami Valley over the weekend.
Air Quality Alert issued for June 3
Meteorologists say the heat from the wildfires is so extreme that it can lift the smoke high into the air.
'It lifts it very high into the air, which is then picked up by upper-level winds and pushed downstream, which gets to us,' said John Franks, NWS Wilmington meteorologist.
Dayton's air quality has not seen a significant uptick in numbers, since there's a minimal amount of low level smoke. Instead, the smoke got picked up by the jet stream, keeping it higher in the air.
'Certainly the lower to the ground where we're actually out and about and breathing, it's going to be more impactful,' said Joy Landry, Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency communications specialist. 'If we're lucky, it stays kind of higher up there.'
Storm Team 2 forecast: Hazy sunshine, due to Canadian wildfire smoke
An air quality alert has been issued for Tuesday in the Miami Valley, but with rain on the way in the middle of the week, the hazy skies will come to an end.
'The rain's just literally going to wash away those particles just the same as if you were throwing charcoal on your driveway and you hose it down. It's kind of that similar basic effect of just washing that away,' said Landry.
Wildfire season is just beginning in the United States and Canada, meaning the Miami Valley could see additional hazy skies later this summer and fall.
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