Weather

When Will Massachusetts Haze From West Coast Wildfires Clear?

A cold front should clear the haze that hung over Massachusetts Tuesday and prompted air quality warnings in most parts of the state.

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The Statue of Liberty sits behind a cloud of haze on Tuesday. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wildfire smoke from the west has arrived on the east coast creating decreased visibility and a yellowish haze.
The Statue of Liberty sits behind a cloud of haze on Tuesday. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wildfire smoke from the west has arrived on the east coast creating decreased visibility and a yellowish haze. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

MASSACHUSETTS — Haze from west coast wildfires continued to hang over Massachusetts and much of the northeast Wednesday, despite an overnight cold front that meteorologists had hoped would clear skies.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued air quality alerts for most of Massachusetts. Smoke from wildfires more than 2,500 miles away on the west coast of the United States and Canada is filling skies over the northeast with fine matter that could cause problems for people with respiratory illnesses.

Only the Cape and Islands were excluded from the Massachusetts alert. Alerts were also issued for most of New York, and parts of Vermont and Connecticut.

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Michael Main, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, NY, told the Berkshire Eagle it's not unusual to see haze from west coast wildfire smoke during summers in New England. But the thickness of the haze this year is unusual.

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