After a break of a few weeks — thanks to some rain in Canada and favorable upper- and lower-level winds — the Canadian wildfire smoke is back with a vengeance.
The air quality index is in the RED category (unhealthy for all), sitting in the 150 to 200 range across the Twin Cities metro and much of the state early Saturday morning.
Shortly after midnight Friday night, air quality rapidly declined in the Twin Cities — so you’re waking up to that ‘campfire’ smell and haze Saturday morning.
The smoke was visible on satellite imagery Friday as it moved into western Minnesota in the wake of a cold front. That front pushed wildfire smoke from the surface in Saskatchewan and Manitoba south and east into Minnesota over the past 24 hours. By early Saturday, the smoke appears as a gray haze across much of the state — in stark contrast to the brighter white, textured look of cloud cover:
A statewide air quality alert remains in effect through early Monday. Everyone — including pets — should limit exposure, as the air is expected to remain unhealthy for all categories. Those with underlying conditions, especially respiratory issues, should be particularly cautious. The good news: If you have an N95 mask lying around, they work well to filter out wildfire smoke particles from the air you breathe.
Just like in much of Minnesota, parts of Manitoba saw decent rains in late June, which helped at least control, if not suppress, some wildfires. That, along with more favorable weather patterns, kept the smoke mostly out of the state in recent weeks.
But now, numerous large fires are once again burning across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Here’s a look at the areas burned as of Friday — shown as brown blotches scattered across Canada:
A staggering portion of central and western Canada is experiencing at least moderate — if not severe — drought, according to Canada’s latest drought monitor. There are even pockets of extreme drought along the Saskatchewan–Manitoba border.
Despite the pleas of some absurd Republican lawmakers, Canada cannot just ‘put out’ all their fires. Canadian wildfires often burn in much more remote areas than those in places like California. If we really want to help Canada, we need to do more to combat climate change. While fires in the U.S. are typically human-caused, many of Canada’s wildfires are sparked by ‘dry’ lightning. But the conditions that allow these fires to develop, spread, and persist — hotter, drier weather arriving earlier and lasting longer — are a direct result of a warming planet.
Over the last 15 days, temperatures across central Canada have been running 8 to 15 degrees above normal — with little to no rainfall.
In 2024, Canada saw average annual temperature anomalies of +8°F above normal — a staggering figure. For context, annual average temperature anomalies usually have a standard deviation of just 2 to 3°F. So +8°F is extreme. The past two years have been exceptionally warm and dry throughout central and western Canada.
We’re likely to see more thick smoke blowing in for midday and afternoon Saturday, with another batch arriving Sunday before clearing out Monday morning. Here’s the HRRR (High-Resolution Rapid Refresh) model’s smoke forecast through 1 a.m. Monday:…