Smoke from Canada wildfires returns here this weekend

After a spring rain, we usually get to enjoy the fresh air that follows, but that won't be the case today.

The National Weather Service in Paducah says we're about to get a familiar visitor, another batch of smoke generated by wildfires more than a thousand miles away in Canada.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, nearly 1.5 million acres have burned across the western provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan so far this year.

Smoke from the blazes is expected to fall heavily over Midwestern states today, and cut across the country to reach the Carolinas by Saturday.

The smoke drifting over the United States this week brings back recent memories after American cities in the Northeast, Midwest, and Plains encountered unhealthy air quality due to over 6000 blazes in Canada in 2023 left more than 37 million acres burned.

The plume will arrive this evening and bring hazy skies into Saturday along with colorful sunrises and sunsets. Air quality may also be impacted at times with the smell of smoke.


(Graphic: National Weather Service Facebook ; Photo Manitoba Government/Accuweather Facebook )