Wildfire smoke descends across central US, causes 'unhealthy' air quality
The sun looked orange as it shined through a thick blanket of wildfire smoke on Tuesday across a large area of North America, including in Denver, and the smoke could spread even farther in the coming days.
Residents in parts of Riverside, California, were forced to evacuate after wildfires broke out this past weekend. Homes and structures were seen being engulfed by the fires.
The sun appeared orange and red through a layer of haze on Tuesday morning as a large blanket of wildfire smoke covered part of the central United States and Canada.
Air quality reached unhealthy levels in parts of North Dakota, eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming and northeastern Colorado where the thickest smoke was concentrated. Dense smoke also obscured the sky over the Canadian Prairies.
The air quality in Denver quickly declined on Tuesday morning. It started the day at "poor" levels and reached "unhealthy" levels before midday, making conditions hazardous for anyone who spends time outdoors.
Air quality across the United States and Canada on Tuesday morning. Unhealthy (red) and very unhealthy (purple) conditions were observed from the central U.S. into parts of Canada. (AccuWeather/Plume Labs)
While the core of the smoke shrouded the North Central states, its true extent was visible from space. On Tuesday morning, satellite images revealed that the smoke had spread as far south as Texas and as far east as Michigan and Ohio.
Air quality in these areas was elevated but not to the extent of the unhealthy conditions reported in the northern Plains.
A satellite image showing the extent of wildfire smoke over North America on Tuesday morning. (NOAA/GOES-EAST)
Where is the wildfire smoke coming from?
Large wildfires burning across the western United States and Canada have been spewing massive plumes of smoke into the atmosphere in recent days. Winds have been guiding the smoke over a large swath of North America, including areas hundreds of miles away from some of the blazes.
Wildfires burning across the United States as of Tuesday morning. The map does not show fires burning in Canada. (AccuWeather)
Where is the smoke heading?
AccuWeather forecasters say the smoke will continue to expand across the northern United States and most of Canada in the coming days. The thickest smoke is expected from eastern Oregon and eastern Washington into Minnesota and across the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Some layers of smoke higher in the atmosphere could also extend into the Midwest, Northeast, Ontario and Quebec.
