Here’s Why Rochester Has Been So Hazy Lately

Have you noticed a particular haziness across southeast Minnesota lately? It's not just in your head-- things HAVE been hazier than usual. Here's what that's happening...

It's not fall knocking on our door that has things looking so hazy. (And, according to most weather folk, we're already in 'meteorological fall'-- which runs September, October and November.)

It's actually all those wildfires burning across parts of northern California, parts of Montana and portions of Canada. All that smoke gets lifted up into the jet stream, which then carries it across the country and then gives us some particularly hazy skies.

I noticed our hazy conditions yesterday morning when I was sitting out on our deck. The sunshine, even though it was high in the eastern sky, had a certain haziness about it, and almost looked like the colors the sun sometimes casts during the 'golden hour' right before sunset.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has listed our area as one of the highest in Minnesota right now, noting that "The smoke is being brought down to the surface by sinking air behind the cold front that passed through the area early Sunday morning."

Good news, though, as the agency says the cooler, more fall-like weather we'll be experiencing the rest of this week should help clear things out, with strong, northwest winds helping to push the smoke south of our region.

WCCO Meteorologist Kylie Bearse tweeted out a graphic that summed up our hazy weather on Sunday...