The smoke we’re seeing isn’t just from the West Coast

It may be cooler outside, but the wildfire smoke has yet to clear.

And that haze you are seeing isn’t just from wildfires along the West Coast and Canada.

“There’s not really a predominant place where it’s coming from,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Dustin Guy explained. “There’s a variety of fires happening across the western U.S. as well as parts of Canada and parts of Siberia and Russia. So a lot of the smoke we’re dealing with is fairly high in altitude.”

Guy says the haze is hanging thousands of feet above us.

So far, our air quality hasn’t been too bad compared to last year. According to the Department of Ecology, much of our air along the I-5 corridor is moderate to good.

It’s possible the smoke will begin moving out of Western Washington later on Tuesday. Rain would help, but we’re currently in the driest part of the year and there isn’t much — if any — precipitation in the forecast.

Where clouds don't block your view, yesterday's hazy smoky skies will be clearing out today. This image shows forecast movement of wildfire smoke — watch the haze push out of Western Washington late today. #wawx pic.twitter.com/XwQB4t1Qzr

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) July 31, 2018

Something to celebrate

Though our views of the mountain ranges may be obstructed, there’s at least one thing to celebrate today: the end of the heat wave.

The heat wave from the past week is coming to an abrupt end as Tuesday’s highs dip five to 10 degrees below what they were on Monday.

By Thursday, we will be lucky to hit 70 degrees during the day.

Marine layer made a push inland toward the Puget Sound last night! Cooler temperatures on tap for today! #wawx pic.twitter.com/U0dJ1JYu3A

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) July 31, 2018

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