Will Florida’s air quality be impacted by smoke from the Canadian wildfires?

Thick orange smoke haze over homes — Courtesy: Shutterstock — SvetlanaSF

The U.S. East Coast and Midwest are engulfed in a thick, toxic veil of smoke as wildfires rage across Canada.

Buildings in New York City were no longer visible on Wednesday due to the city’s heavy wildfire smoke infiltration, which caused some to claim they could “taste the air.” The Associated Press reports that 400 flames are raging in Canada and have forced 20,000 people to flee their homes.

According to NBC News, ozone and wildfire smoke air quality alerts were in effect this morning for 98 million people living in 18 states spanning from New Hampshire to South Carolina.

According to IQAIR.com, a tracking website, as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, New York City’s air quality was “the worst in the world.” More southern states, including the Carolinas, are feeling the impact of the smoke as the fires continue, but will the hazy plumes reach Florida?

Jeffrey Berardelli, the chief meteorologist for WFLA, says it’s unlikely that much of the smoke will make it to the Sunshine State. A “thin smoky haze” could, however, perhaps move through some areas of Florida this weekend.

“With dozens of large fires burning in Quebec, and a storm parked off New England, unfortunately, the wind flow around the storm is carrying the thick plume of smoke directly into the Northeast,” Berardelli said. “The pattern is stalled like an atmospheric traffic jam, so the smoke will continue to pour south through Saturday, although not quite as thick as Wednesday. But the pattern will finally break, allowing the smoke to push out on Sunday.”

The smoke will be so spread out by the time it reaches the Tampa Bay region, according to Berardelli, that it won’t be very noticeable.

“Our wind flow is from the west to the east, but the smoke is far north of us, so it is unlikely much will reach us. There is some small chance that by Saturday a thin smoky haze will pass through north-central Florida, but by the time it reaches this far south, it will be so thinned out that it won’t be very noticeable,” Berardelli said.

Several flights have been delayed because of the smoke.


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