Hazy skies in Michiana due to smoke from Canadian wildfires

You may have noticed that the sky looked a bit different yesterday, and you could especially tell the difference with the sunset. Many people across Michiana saw a red setting sun and hazy, gray skies.

This smoky appearance was caused by Canadian wildfires mainly in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Although the fires themselves are very far away, the smoke can rise high up in our atmosphere and be carried far and wide by the jet stream.

Many people across the Midwest witnessed these hazy skies yesterday with some even able to smell the smoke.

The heavy #smoke draped across Minnesota and North Dakota will continue to slip south and will likely affect northern Nebraska and Iowa this evening.

From western Canada, it should remain elevated - colored sky, little smell. pic.twitter.com/9ZlNT5ozjR

— NWS Omaha (@NWSOmaha) May 16, 2023

Yesterday’s cold front kept some of that smoke over our area, but with the cold front now moved out, smoke should be mostly leaving our skies today and tomorrow.

It is possible that we could see the return of hazy skies in a few days with upper-level winds forecasted to guide some of that smoke back into the Midwest.