Minnesota’s sky obscured by smoke plume; state of emergency in BC
Skies over Minnesota are obscured by thick smoke once again. The massive smoke plume is drifting in from wildfires in British Columbia in western Canada. The smoke is so thick the sky over Minnesota is an eerie whiteish gray color, instead of our typically blue summer sky.
Visible from space
The massive smoke plume is clearly visible from 22,300 miles up in space on NOAA weather satellites. Not normal.
Air quality alert
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Most of the smoke is aloft Friday afternoon. But more smoke may mix down to ground level Friday night into Saturday. The MPCA has expanded air ari quality alert to include most of southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities.
560 wildfires in BC
There are now over 560 active wildfires in British Columbia pumping out smoke toward Minnesota.
A state of emergency has been declared for British Columbia.
Smoky weekend
Minnesota endures the smoke plume this weekend. Rain Sunday night into Monday may help wash some of the smoke out. Temperatures rise again into the 80s later next week.
