'Dangerous' air quality in Minnesota, Wisconsin as wildfire smoke pours in from Canada
The smell of fire filled the air as thick smoke from wildfires in Canada blanketed part of the Midwest and created hazardous air quality on Tuesday.
Air quality across the central and eastern United States on Wednesday morning. The air quality was still "unhealthy" to "dangerous" in parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. (AccuWeather/Plume Labs)
Air quality reached dangerous levels in part of the Midwest Tuesday morning as thick smoke from wildfires burning in Canada blew across the region, and remained poor as the sun rose on Wednesday morning.
Smoke started to appear in the sky over parts of the central and eastern United States in late May, but the intensity of the smoke near the ground reached a new level by daybreak Tuesday in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Residents in Minneapolis could smell smoke in the air, and visibility was reduced to less than 3 miles for a time on Tuesday. The air quality index (AQI) reached 288, a "dangerous" level at which even healthy individuals can start to experience immediate effects on their breathing and health when outside. By Wednesday morning, the AQI had dropped to 117, but was still bad enough for people to feel health effects from the smoke while outside.
St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday, June 3, when there was thick wildfire smoke over the city, compared to Tuesday, May 27. (EarthCam)
Images from an EarthCam in St. Paul showed the dramatic difference between the smoky start to Tuesday compared to last week when little to no smoke was in the sky. The scenes are similar to the Northeast during 2023 when smoke from Canadian wildfires shrouded skylines across the Northeast, including in New York City.
There is good news for people in the Midwest awaiting relief from the poor air quality.
"The prolonged stretch of a smoke-filled sky and poor air quality across portions of the Upper Midwest will finally come to an end heading into midweek courtesy of a cold front sweeping the smoke eastward," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
"Residents across Minnesota and Wisconsin who have seen the smoke, haze, and poor air quality will be able to breathe more easily by Wednesday; however, this may not be a prolonged stretch of smoke-free air, as waves of additional Canadian wildfire smoke could return by Friday and Saturday across the region," Buckingham added.
