Superb day all around, but I felt kind of robbed. Fair weather clouds would have made for a perfect foreground against a deep, blue sky. Instead, we were plagued by a milky sky of varying intensity. All that milk (or haze) was courtesy of the fires in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Check out the smoky transport in this satellite image.
The light colored smoke traveling across the Great Lakes and extending northwest to the fires is sandwiched between the bright white clouds. You can see a direct connection between the source and New England. And to think that some people don’t believe what happens up there affects what happens to us here. It truly is a small world after all.
As long as the fires keep burning, we’ll have to deal with occasional haze and pollution. And it is affecting our air quality as shown in the Air Quality Index from the EPA (yellow is moderate):
Fret not, however, our winds turn southwest in the coming days. This means our air will clean up, but it also heightens the threat for rain and storms.
I’m not labeling Sunday a washout, but there will be a standing threat for a passing shower or a quick downpour in the afternoon. Certainly workable forecast and one that features a lot more humidity and clouds than Saturday.
Monday’s not a prize-winner either. In fact, it has a better chance for a storm than Sunday thanks to a small storm system churning through the upper atmosphere.
Make do, stay safe and enjoy the weekend!
Pete