The sky is hazy as the sun shines through smoke from wildfires in Canada May 13, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — For the second May in a row, wildfire smoke from Canada is making its presence known here in Northeast Wisconsin.
Hazy skies greeted us to start the work week on Monday.
The smoke came rushing in behind a cold front that kicked off storms to close the weekend.
And if it seems like this smoke kind of came out of nowhere, that’s because it has been a very recent development.
Through May 8, which was last Wednesday, Canada’s wildfire season had seen a very quiet start.
Only about 16-thousand hectares had burned so far, which is a fraction of the ten-year average of about 94-thousand.
It also pales in comparison to a similar time last year, which had already seen nearly half a million hectares burned through May 10.
But just over the couple days, huge wildfires have erupted in parts of Canada.
The largest ones have been in northeastern British Columbia, and there have been a few other large fires a little closer along the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
And with winds out of the northwest behind the cold front that passed through Sunday, that transported the billowing smoke from those fires right down into the western Great Lakes.
Thankfully, this particular band of smoke fairly narrow.
We’re anticipating less smoky skies as soon as Tuesday.
But it was an abrupt reminder of how quickly our air and sky conditions can change during wildfire season.
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