Forest fire smoke alarm issued for WI

Yes, smoke from the Canadian wildfires is returning to Wisconsin.

May 12, 2024, 8:36 p.m. (CDT). | Updated May 12, 2024, 8:38 p.m. (CDT).

WISCONSIN – The first round of 2024 Canadian wildfire smoke has made its way to Minnesota and is expected to move into northwestern Wisconsin “shortly,” the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said Sunday.

If the smoke advances beyond a cold front, unhealthy conditions are possible. The cloud is coming from northeastern British Columbia.

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“Concentrations are expected to remain elevated across northwest Wisconsin through Sunday afternoon and evening and could even increase overnight into Monday morning as a nighttime inversion develops, trapping the smoke in a thin layer of atmosphere near the surface,” the DNR said in its Alert report.

The latest forecast shows smoke will move northwest to southeast behind a cold front Sunday night into Monday morning. On Monday it will finally affect the entire state of Wisconsin.

Monitor the air quality forecast for Wisconsin on the DNR website.