Devastating wildfires have been sweeping the West Coast, from the California Bay Area to Portland, Oregon, and now some effects are hitting the East Coast.
The National Weather Service (NWS) shared that New Yorkers may have noticed a yellow or brown tinge in the sky yesterday and today, and that is indeed from the fires on the other side of the country.
They Tweeted a satellite photo, showing smoke in the area at 25,000 feet, and even sharing a photo from their office nearby where you can visibly see the haze:
Since smoke is at 25,000 ft and not at the ground, the NWS said there shouldn’t be much impact to our air quality. The EPA is still forecasting good air quality for the surrounding areas this week:
ABC7‘s meteorologist said that the hazy skies were a “result of the smoke becoming caught in the jet streams and traveling to the East Coast.” We would have normally had bright blue skies today.
SMOKY SKY
High and dry this afternoon, but no deep blue sky. West Coast wildfire smoke has reached NYC. #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/fXEg97csMz— Lee Goldberg (@LeeGoldbergABC7) September 14, 2020
This will likely occur for the next few days, with the sun being filtered by the smoke.
If you’d like to help those affected by the fires, you can find ideas here.
featured image source: Unsplash