LANSING, Mich. — Thick wildfire smoke from Canada will return Sunday. This will be higher up in the atmosphere and at the surface. Air quality issues can be expected that will affect everyone regardless of sensitivity.
Canada has been burning for over two months now as they experience an unprecedented wildfire season. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, nearly 10 million acres have already burned with 900 active fires ongoing. They also state on their website that more than half of those fires are out of control.
These massive fires are sending almost an incomprehensible amount of smoke into the atmosphere. As this smoke interacts with wind patterns and storm systems, it heads into the Great Lakes, Michigan, and your neighborhood.
A storm system spiraling across the center of our northern neighbor will keep the flow of atmosphere out of the northwest. Thus, smoke from British Columbia and Alberta fires will be funneled right into our area. This smoke will be in the higher levels of the atmosphere and down at the surface.
Expect the worst of the smoke to begin to arrive later Saturday in Michigan with widespread air quality issues by Sunday morning. Air Quality Index values (AQI) have already dropped into the red, Unhealthy, across the northern plains states. In southern Canada they are purple which is Very Unhealthy. These values will likely reach Michigan Sunday into Monday.
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