Smoke fromWest Coast wildfires leaves haze in Anne Arundel skies

Smoke fromthe historic wildfires ravaging the West Coast has reached Anne Arundel County, contributing to cooler temperatures and a hazy red sunrise Wednesday morning, according to a NationalWeather Service meteorologist.

Thethicksmoke traveled throughthe jet stream to the East Coast and is sitting above 15,000 feet in the air, blocking out sunlight, according to the National Weather Service’s forecast. The temperatures in the area should be in the upper 60s and lower 70s Thursday, according to the forecast, and the smoke is not expected to significantly prevent normal cooling at night.

However, the smoke could linger for up to a few days, NWS meteorologist Brian LaSorfa said.

The traveling smoke has reached other areas, including New York and the Midwest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The wildfires raging in California, Oregon and Washington have left at least 35 dead as of Monday and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. California’s August Complex fire, currently blazing inNorthern California, has burned the most acres of any fire in California history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Because the smoke is sitting so high, it hasn’t posed a risk to regional air quality, leaving the Air Quality Index in Code

“Green,” meaning “good,” NWS meteorologist Brian LaSorfa said.

The smoke blocks out the sunshine, rendering it less bright than normal, LaSorfa explained. It blocks the sun in a similar way to how clouds normally do, although not necessarily to the same extent, as clouds are usually thicker, LaSorfa added.

The smoke is also making for more red and orange in the sky at sunrise and sunset, LaSorfa said, since the sunlight reflects off more particles due to the smoke.

LaSorfawasn’t sure howlong it took the smoke to travel all the way across the country but noted that winds above the Baltimore region are generally in the 17 to 23 miles per hour range.

LAWRENCE HEYWORTH III/COURTESY PHOTO Sunrise over Eastport, with Greenbury Point visible across the Severn River, was a hazy redWednesday morning. Smoke fromtheWest Coast wildfires has reached the region, dropping temperatures during the day and making sunrises and sunset redder than normal.