Smoke from Western US wildfires reaches NYC

Smoke from wildfires in the Western United States has reached NYC today. The sky will remain hazy and milky throughout the day as a result. The thick plume of smoke will remain 15,000 to 20,000 feet above our heads, limiting ground-level effects.

How did the smoke get here?

Parts of the Western United States, including California and Oregon, have dealt with severe wildfires for the past two weeks. During this time, much of the smoke remained trapped in that area (remember the photos of red and orange skies in California?) thanks to a large ridge of high pressure.

Yesterday, rising smoke was swept up by a mid level jet stream and carried quickly eastward into Central and Eastern North America. The first signs of its presence were observed on Monday afternoon and evening. Photographers captured a hazy and smokey sunset in the NYC Metro Area.

Smoke particles can be picked up and transported quite easily by the low, mid and upper level atmospheric jet stream. In this instance, the smoke rose above 10,000 feet before it was scooped up by jet stream and pushed eastward. Residents closer to the fires are obviously not as fortunate, with terrible air quality in the low levels of the atmosphere.

Today, a thick plume of smoke has been observed between 600 and 400mb – 15,000 to 20,000 feet above our heads. Forecast models suggest that this plume will remain over the Northeast United States for at least the next 12-24 hours.

The impacts of this plume of smoke will be limited in NYC. Air quality impacts will be marginal. The main impact will be on temperature, where the smoke particles could keep temperatures a few degrees cooler.

More than anything else, the thick plume of smoke is a stark reminder of how connected we all are.

What can you do to help?

You can help support wildfire relief and recovery by donating or interacting with the following organizations:

1. Donate to the Oregon food bank
2. Contribute to help displaced Oregon residents
3. Donate to the California Fire Foundation
4. Donate to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation