NASA MODIS satellite shows wildfire smoke in Southern California making its way all the way up to the Pacific Northwest, 9 December 2017. Photo: NASA

By Scott Sistek
9 December 2017
SEATTLE (KOMO News) – Here we go again?The skies over Seattle were a bit of a hazy orange Saturday evening … reminiscent of the smoky days of this summer when it seemed no matter which way the wind was blowing, there was smoke from a wildfire either to our north, east or south to push into our region.But as University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences professor Cliff Mass points out, it seems even smoke two states away can still find its way into our region.As a huge ridge of high pressure along the West Coast brings southerly winds aloft, it has carried the smoke from southern California up the entire West Coast and into the Pacific Northwest.Mass pointed out you can see it on the raw satellite image. […]Just like it did during the summer, the smoke is making for colorful sunrises and sunsets as the smoke scatters the sunlight into deep reds and oranges.The air quality wasn’t all that great in the Puget Sound region Saturday evening, but that is more likely due to the strong inversion that is trapping pollutants near the ground. [more]

Smoke from Los Angeles-area wildfires makes way into Puget Sound region