The smoke coming from the Canadian wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia that sent plumes as far away as North Carolina won’t be making its trek to Florida.
The issue won’t be a worry, a spokesperson for the National Weather Service in Miami said Thursday. “Upper-level winds will direct the smoke plume offshore of the eastern United States into the Atlantic Ocean before reaching this far south. At this point, no direct impacts are expected with the smoke at this time here in South Florida.”
Across the eastern U.S., officials warned residents to stay inside and limit or avoid outdoor activities again Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that in Washington, D.C., schools were ordered to cancel outdoor recess, sports and field trips, and in New York City, a million N95 masks were being made available. As of Wednesday evening, major metro areas such as Philadelphia; Jersey City, New Jersey; and New Haven, Connecticut, had “very unhealthy” air-quality indexes.
On Wednesday, New York City had the worst air-quality rating of any major city in the world.
Experts said waves of smoke will continue to move south Thursday from New York City to Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
But this weekend, the winds will begin to switch and blow smoke away from the U.S.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash