Canadian wildfire smoke possible in northeastern Colorado on Tuesday

Lighter shades of blue over North and South Dakota denote particle pollution (smoke) that may move into northeastern Colorado starting late Monday night. Image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's AerosolWatch

Canadian wildfires made a lot of headlines last week with very heavy smoke across the eastern United States. Although Colorado is not expecting anything that bad, some smoke will be possible starting late Monday night across the northeastern corner of the state. As northeasterly winds increase, that smoke is expected to spread to the south and west. Increasing smoke will be possible by Tuesday morning across the eastern plains of Colorado (mostly along and north of Interstate 70), including Julesburg, Ft. Morgan, and Burlington. The Northern Front Range urban corridor could also have hazy skies by Tuesday morning, including Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Ft. Collins and surrounding areas.

Although we are not anticipating unhealthy levels of smoke at this time, the smoke could certainly be noticeable with poor visibility and some public health impacts. The Denver/Northern Front Range area has been contending with high ozone for the past several days. The addition of particle pollution from smoke could increase some health symptoms. This is especially true for those with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children. Please take it a bit slower on Tuesday and be prepared to protect your health if air quality worsens in your area.