Why is the sky hazy? Wildfire smoke returning to Boston

BOSTON - Have you noticed a little haze in the sky today? Wildfire smoke is back in Massachusetts.

Smoke from wildfires raging in the western United States and northwestern Canada is finding its way back to New England.

As the summer wears on, more and more wildfires are breaking out to our west. In the image below, you can see all of the small fire icons representing a wildfire that is currently out of control.

These fires are producing a very large smoke plume that is carried up to high levels of the atmosphere and transported in the direction of the current upper level winds.

Check out the forecasted wind direction at upper levels Wednesday. The same is true for much of Thursday as well. Our air is essentially coming right out of Canada, almost a direct feed to the wildfire smoke that has blown across country.

Wildfire smoke forecast in Massachusetts

Up until now, we haven't had much issue with smoky skies over New England this summer ... certainly nothing anywhere near resembling what we experienced last summer .

The next few days will be the first time this summer with a noticeable haze over much of our area.

Forecast models show a fairly robust area of smoke at upper levels of the atmosphere pouring down into New England.

Air quality in Boston

Some good news: The highest concentrations of smoke will stay well aloft (way above our heads). At ground levels, the concentration will remain fairly low and therefore we don't anticipate any major health concerns or air quality issues .

We expect the primary wind direction to change to a more west-southwesterly flow later this week and into the weekend. That should just about clear out the smoke in New England but also bring in some slightly more humid air.