Wildfire smoke blanketed much of the West on Tuesday morning, including a dense plume that hovered over northern Oregon and the Pacific Ocean, extending just off the California coast.
Winds in Oregon and Washington state were blowing from east to west, pushing smoke over the Pacific. The plume was then getting caught in the north-to-south winds along the California coast.
A swirling coastal eddy was keeping the haze mainly over water Tuesday morning, but is expected to slowly push into the Bay Area with the afternoon sea breeze. Light smoke is forecast to arrive in San Francisco around 5 p.m., potentially dropping the air quality index to the “moderate” category. Similar impacts are expected throughout the Bay Area, with varying arrival times through the afternoon and evening…