Expect hazy skies as Canada wildfires bring smoke over central Pennsylvania

Smoke and ash from dozens of intense wildfires in western Canada clouded Centre County’s skies Wednesday as the effects of the blazes were seen more 2,000 miles away.

Winds blew smoke from Alberta and British Columbia to the other side of the continent, causing hazy skies and setting the stage for a vibrant sunset. Short wavelengths of blue light are captured by the haze, allowing red and orange wavelengths to stand out.

The smoke should shift eastward as early as Thursday, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines said.

About 29,000 Canadians were evacuated Sunday as the fires destroyed homes and produced towering chimneys of smoke that reached into the upper troposphere.

Jet streams — high-velocity winds that move from west to east — carried the smoke into Pennsylvania.

“The smoke that we’re seeing today probably took a few days to get here,” Kines said. “It went way up north before it started taking its southeastward trek toward us. It didn’t take a straight route; it took more of a scenic route to get here.”

Smoke can worsen air quality, but Kines said the smoke affecting Centre County’s skies should be too high in the atmosphere to cause problems for anyone on the ground. No air quality alerts were issued.

Thick smoke can also trim a few degrees off the day’s high temperature, but Kines said Centre County similarly shouldn’t be affected by that either.

Skywatchers could also be treated Wednesday night to a sight of the aurora borealis, Kines said. Centre County’s skies should largely be clear. He recommended viewers head to areas free of light pollution to give themselves the best chance to see the northern lights.

“Those things are always tough to say whether or not they’re going to happen. We know when they can happen and it certainly could happen tonight or tomorrow night. It’s just a matter of whether it does,” Kines said. “If they do happen, it should be a pretty good night to view them.”