COLUMBIA, S.C. — There are no active fires in the Midlands right now but you might have noticed the smell of smoke outside.
We had some sunshine Tuesday but it might have been hard to tell with the milky-white skies over the Midlands. This haze is the result of forest and grassland fires that have been occurring in Canada where over 1800 square miles of land have burned. This is the typical season for Canadian wildfires.
This smoke has traveled using the jet stream and other surface weather features all the way across North America and has finally reached us here in the Midlands.
Air Quality has been reduced to the moderate category which would cause issues for the only people with the most sensitive of breathing issues.
As for the haze, this is a product of the smoke particles in our air known as Mie Scattering where the smoke particles bend light in such a way that it creates white light, or what we see as haze.
It is likely that this haze and air quality could become more of an issue over the next 48 hours as northeasterly winds continue to funnel more smoke into the Carolinas. This will be trapped by southwesterly winds in the upper levels meaning the smoke will sit over us for days to come.
While major air quality issues are unlikely, the smoky weather will likely continue through Thursday to Friday of this week. Where we could see some clearer air with an area of low pressure off of our coast.