Smoke Map ........ 2023

[Bob]

Starting this up....... that time of year.

 

[b.stark]

Had a fair amount of smoke even here in Nebraska today. Too early for this nonsense.

 

[RyanP]

Ugh I thought this was a high-snow year throughout the West...

 

[SteveR]

The smoke from large wildfires further north moved into our area of Alberta on Tuesday. It was tolerable that morning, when starting out on a ridgewalk SW of Calgary, but got much worse through the day. At least we only have the smoke to contend with- there have been mass evacuations in some communities.

This picture was taken as the smoke really intensified, it was either/or in terms of distance back, so we continued on, without the usual great views.
Wednesday was off the charts horrible, so thick here that the sun was completely obscured. It's looking a little bit better this morning and forecast to improve over the next 2 days, according to the Firesmoke.ca forecast:

Unlike much of the American west, this was a low snowpack winter for most of BC and Alberta, with a very warm and dry spring thus far.

 

[Bob]

Smoke has arrived GYE today

 

[Jackson]

I'm in Indiana visiting family, and it's faintly smoky even out here. Not enough to affect air quality too much, but enough that the sunlight looks off and the sky isn't really blue.

 

[Bob]

Smokey smell, dim sun, mtns gone

 

[Rockskipper]

I'm getting ready to buy a little camper and spend the summer camping, maybe not such a good idea - smoke and heat.

 

[regehr]

the good news is we're living in the future! the bad news is the future is fire season all year.

 

[canadug]

Sadly, up here in BC we only had an average snowfall this season......The way above average heat wave we are experiencing in all of BC and Alberta is incredibly bad news

 

[Yvonne]

So early!!!
Iʻm really glad I do not have to deal with the nasty air quality and fires anymore.
We do get brushfires here as well, but usually, it rains within a few days, and the fires are dowsed pretty soon

 

[regehr]

the smoke arrived in SLC today, wasn't too bad this morning but it's disgusting now

 

[Rockskipper]

My brother, who lives in Boulder (CO), went for walk today and thought it was odd that there was thick fog everywhere. Didn't realize it was smoke.

 

[regehr]

 

[Bob]

View attachment 121113

Not bad.... You can see the mtn

 

[b.stark]

We had visibility down under a couple miles yesterday. Today was pretty much clear of smoke by evening though.

 

[Wanderlust073]

My brother, who lives in Boulder (CO), went for walk today and thought it was odd that there was thick fog everywhere. Didn't realize it was smoke.

We actually had thick fog, down here bit south of Boulder anyway. Wettest freaking May.

But yeah when it burned off it still looked foggy lol. Worst air quality in the world according to the news. Not sure what the metric is (other than hyping for clicks). Been working outside last two days and we have definitely had worse going by my burning nose/throat metric.

 

[fossana]

Not sure what the metric is (other than hyping for clicks). Been working outside last two days and we have definitely had worse going by my burning nose/throat metric.

The primary wildfire smoke pollutant of concern is particles <= 2.5µm in diameter (2.5 PM metric). This is what the EPA air quality site has on Boulder for the past 25 years:

 

[ImNotDedYet]

Went to the wildlife refuge in Denver yesterday for a bit of a walk and drive to see some bison. North Denver was extremely hazy with almost zero visibility of Long's Peak and the foothills - which are usually easily visible from that area.

 

[Janice]

Hazy/smoky sky in SE Michigan yesterday and today. Sure enough, the map shows the darkest gray over us. Now that the gloomy, cloudy winter is behind us, I would really like to see blue sky on a nice day. It would go well with the lilac, peony, iris, columbine, and valerian flowers that are taking center stage in my garden right now!