Canada wildfire smoke forecast: haze returns to Philadelphia skies
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The sunshine returned across the Northeast Thursday morning, but so has haze due to another round of Canada wildfire smoke drifting over our region.
Once again, smoke from wildfires burning in Canada has been caught up in the upper-level winds, which carried the smoke across the midwest and Great Lakes regions east into Pennsylvania and into the Delaware Valley.
The Thursday morning satellite imagery clearly showed a plume of this smoke draped from Ohio into New Jersey, moving from west to east.
This round of Canada wildfire smoke unlikely to impact air quality in Philadelphia region
The good news is that it appears most of this smoke is suspended high above the ground, away from where it can have an impact on our air quality and health at the surface.
Morning air quality readings from around the Philadelphia region Thursday mostly showed "Good" levels. Where the smoke plume appeared to be a little more dense in Pittsburgh over western Pennsylvania, the air quality was a little worse, reading in the 'Moderate' level.
While some smoke may infiltrate to the surface in the Philadelphia area, it will be nothing compared to the air quality levels last week, which ranged from unhealthy to "hazardous" at times and led to Code Red alerts.
The surface smoke forecast models predict very little smoke moving into the region over the next couple of days.
Smoke in the upper-levels of the atmosphere is expected to continue to stream in from the west over the next day or so, which will likely continue to produce a noticeable haze in the sky, especially for sunrise and sunsets.
Showers and storms are expected to move through the region on Friday which could work to pull down a little more of the smoke particles once the rain departs.
While the air quality is not expected to be tremendously impacted, the NEXT Weather Team will continue to monitor those levels and keep you posted if conditions change.
By Saturday morning, most of the smoke from this plume is expected to clear out.
Where are the Canadian wildfires? How did the fires start?
There are over 400 wildfires burning in Canada, including more than 200 considered "out of control," according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Thousands of acres are burning in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario and then the smoke is carried on the wind.
The Canadian fires most likely started due to a combination of dry, hot weather that makes the forests dry out. Sparks from lightning can then lead to a blaze that can spread rapidly.
Dry conditions played a role in the very busy wildfire season locally, too. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has battled a