Before Wyoming’s weatherman Don Day left for a fall hunting trip, we tracked him down to discuss the smoky air that is affecting many areas of the state.
Day said it will take 24 to 48 hours but we should be getting a break from the smoke due a rainstorm that will hit the Pacific Northwest over the weekend.
“There’s going to be rain moving into Washington, Oregon, even far northern California and that’s going to really help reduce the coverage of the fires,” Day said.
He said the rain won’t extinguish the fires but will give firefighters some help.
The cold front will act as a broom, Day said and will push the smoke out.
“It will bring upper level winds that will be faster and stronger,” he said. “It may not completely get rid of the smoke, but by Sunday and Monday the smoke will be greatly reduced.”
If you’ve felt like the smoke has hung around for a long time, you’re not imagining things. It’s the time of the year.
“The thing to remember about high pressure this time of year is the winds aloft — the prevailing winds — are very weak,” he said. “So when you build up a lot of smoke, there’s nothing to push the smoke out. It kind of lingers and hangs around until the weather pattern changes or the fires go out.”
