The skies throughout Virginia may be hazy over the next few days due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires.
While Virginians likely will not smell the smoke, it is likely to be noticeable from a visual standpoint, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines.
“The smoke won’t be as thick as it was across Minnesota and Wisconsin and upper Michigan where the people can smell the smoke, visibility is greatly reduced and air quality is poor,” Kines said.
“However, I do think the haze will be noticeable at times.”
Millions of people across the northern U.S. have been dealing with poor air quality due to the fires. Air quality reached dangerous levels in part of the Midwest Tuesday morning as thick smoke from wildfires burning in Canada blew across the region.
Residents in Minneapolis reported that they could smell smoke in the air, and visibility was reduced to less than three miles at times, according to AccuWeather.
The scenes are similar to what Virginia and other states encountered in 2023 from the Canadian wildfires.
In 2023, smoke from wildfires resulted in poor air quality throughout much of the state.
Many people looking to capture the aurora Sunday and Monday night blamed the poor visibility on the smoke from the wildfires. However, Kines told AFP the smoke didn’t have any effect on viewing the aurora in Virginia.
“The main reason for not being able to see the northern lights is the peak ended up being early Sunday, when it was getting light in the east, which was about 12 hours earlier than expected,” Kines said. “It was in its waning stages Sunday night and more so Monday night.”
To check the current air quality, click here.
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Crystal Graham
