Smoke from the deadly and devastating wildfires out west has drifted all the way to the East Coast, creating a murky sky over the D.C. region.
The smoke enveloped the D.C. sky on Tuesday, and Storm Team4 Meteorologist Lauryn Ricketts said hazy skies will continue through Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Maps show huge smoke plumes swathed across much the country as numerous wildfires continue to rage in California, Oregon and Washington state.
Ricketts said Wednesday would have been a nice day except for the haze, which caused skies to appear gray. Temperatures are in the 60s, cooler than we've been seeing lately.
Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer said that Tuesday would also have been a sunny, clear day with beautiful blue skies.
"We didn't see that at all [Tuesday] and it is because of that wildfire smoke," Kammerer said.
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Photos: Wildfire Smoke Spreads Across DC Area
Instead, a milky white haze enveloped the area and blocked the sunshine, keeping temperatures in the D.C. area down by a couple of degrees. The sky turned dark Tuesday evening about an hour before sunset.
Despite the smoke, the air quality level remains in the "good" range in the D.C. region because the smoke was drifting at an altitude of about 25,000 feet, according to meteorologists.
Clouds are expected Thursday, so it will be hard to differentiate between the haze and the clouds, Ricketts said.
Storm Team4's meteorologist Somara Theodore said the smoke will be moving out Thursday morning through early Friday.
