Smoke from western wildfires blankets region in haze

A haze blanketed Southeast Missouri on Thursday — smoke from wildfires burning in the western part of the United States and Canada.

Derrick Snyder, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, confirmed the source of the haze and said it has reduced the visibility from the usual 10 miles to about 5 miles. He said the smoke is usually in the upper levels of the atmosphere but has been closer to the ground recently.

Snyder acknowledged that while smoke from western wildfires has made its way to the region in years past, this event is different.

“I think this event is a little bit more intense than usual, in terms of the impacts with the haze. And, you know, it’s obviously causing issues with some lower air quality across the region,” he said.

He referred to certain counties in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee that are under extreme air-quality alerts, unlike Southeast Missouri.

A map of the heartland shows the air quality at noon Thursday. Warm colors are low air quality and cool colors are high air quality. Much of Southeast Missouri is red, a low level. Sourced from BreezoMeter

Snyder said those who are particularly sensitive to air quality should consider staying indoors.

According to data from BreezoMeter, an air-quality database, the air quality in Cape Girardeau and much of the region was 39 out of 100 at noon Thursday, a low level of air quality.

Under a section labeled “Health tips” on Breezo-

Meter, advice included: “Reduce the intensity of your outdoor activities. It is recommended to limit the time you are near busy roads, construction sites, open fire and other sources of smoke. Staying indoors with an activated air filtration system would be best for your long term health.”

Snyder said the haze will continue into Friday. It will start to disappear once showers and thunderstorms move into the area during the weekend.

The weekend weather will also bring high temperatures and humidity, making the heat index near or more than 100 degrees. Snyder suggested the public stay hydrated and take breaks from the heat to avoid heat exhaustion.