As wildfires burn in Oregon and Washington, Wisconsin residents several states away are unlikely to see a repeat of the smoky conditions that led to remarkably poor air quality in July.
While the smoke is moving toward Wisconsin, it’s unlikely residents on the ground will be affected. As long as the smoke stays in the upper atmosphere, the most notable change will be pink sunrises and sunsets, National Weather Service meteorologist Marcia Cronce told the Journal Sentinel on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
To get the same poor air quality that Wisconsin residents experienced in July, the wildfire smoke would need to start much closer than the West Coast. But never say never: The smoky conditions still exist.
How West Coast wildfire smoke could affect Wisconsin
The “conditions are favorable” for pink sunrises and sunsets in Wisconsin as smoke from the West Coast reaches the upper atmosphere and triggers the unusual hue, Cronce said.
The current weather patterns show the smoky air from the Pacific Northwest is likely to stay in the upper atmosphere on Tuesday, Aug. 4 and Wednesday, Aug. 5, Cronce said.
“We can’t say with positivity what happens after that,” she said. “If it stays in the upper atmosphere, we have long-term tools that are good for predictions. If it stays in the middle atmosphere, we have good long-term prediction tools there as well. Once smoke comes to the lower atmosphere, we’re much more limited in what we can say.”
A cold front is typically the first precursor to smoke coming closer to the ground – though it’s no guarantee – so meteorologists will be watching for cold fronts coming from the west.
High-pressure weather systems usually follow cold fronts. When high-pressure systems arrive, they pull air down from the upper atmosphere.
Even with both of these conditions met, the worst Wisconsin would likely get is a vague smell of smoke in the air if the smoke comes solely from Oregon and Washington, Cronce said.
“What we had in July was not normal. We’d really have to get those fires in Canada and the Boundary Waters in Minnesota to see that again,” she said.
How bad are the Oregon and Washington wildfires?
As of Aug. 3, the current wildfires in Oregon and Washington have displaced more than 65,000 residents and burned more than 250,000 acres. Across the entire wildfire season, Oregon has seen a record 2 million acres burned. Oregon’s previous wildfire acreage record was 1.96 million acres burned in 2024.
Oregon alone makes up 30% of the country’s wildfire acreage this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The organization reported seven large wildfires in Oregon and two large wildfires in Washington still blazing Aug. 4. Only one of the wildfires in Washington is contained.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin unlikely to see repeat of July’s smoky skies from Oregon fires
Reporting by Caden Perry, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Caden Perry, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
