EVERETT — Autumnal fog has replaced wildfire smoke in Snohomish County.
Smoke has mostly cleared from the area except at high altitudes, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
It may look like the sun is filtering through a brown haze, turning sunsets into a hot pink or red color, but it’s safe to go outside and open windows, weather service meteorologist Gary Schneider said.
“There is some smoke to the south that drifted up yesterday and that’s what’s been over the area, but it’s not really affecting air quality,” he said Thursday. “It is still either good or moderate air quality, that’s normal around here.”
Haze in the sky may stick around for a couple more days, but Schneider expects westerly winds to clear it somewhat by the weekend.
“We are not 100 percent sure it will be gone at that point, but it’s not going to be a big deal like it was earlier in the summer,” he said.
Weather is expected to be dry for the next week or so, with high temperatures reaching nearly 70 degrees at times. Fog is expected to roll in again Friday morning.
While the weather service doesn’t expect any more smoke, it’s not possible to make that kind of forecast beyond a few days.
“There are a lot of variables like where the fires are and where the winds are, so that’s kind of hard to predict,” Schneider said.
Earlier this month, the entire West Coast was covered in a thick unhealthy layer of smoke from fires that had spread in Washington, Oregon and California. It stuck around here for about 10 days.
Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.
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