Smoke from Canadian Wildfires... pretty heavy in Hunterdon

[Mrs. Peel 7,033]

I'm really surprised at just how bad the air quality is here in northern Hunterdon County tonight. I was just out in my car... the scent of smoke was quite heavy in the air, and I was surprised that I could actually SEE the smoke swirling in the light of the streetlights, etc. It honestly looked like a light fog had rolled in! When you think of how far we are from the source of the fires (Nova Scotia apparently) - I'm just amazed at how much it has impacted local conditions. The way it looks and smells, you might think it was only 5 miles away. Mother Nature is really something else! I just spoke with my brother in Freehold, and he has similar conditions down there, too. Apparently, it's all over Northern and Central NJ.

If you have asthma or other lung issues... I'd really try to stay inside until this blows over. Nasty stuff!

[Lawnmower2021 394]

Western Essex County... We went out to a playground this afternoon, thought it was just sudden haze or pollution. But it got worse quickly; my wife described it as "the whole neighborhood having barbecues at once."

So, yeah. Our outdoor playtime is on hold until the air's clear. Hopefully they can control the fire and evacuate anyone in immediate danger.

[67gtonut 845]

Very bad in Morris County.....  my eyes are actually getting irritated

[father-of-three 217]

Yes.  It was very noticeable when I left Flemington last night.

[45Doll 5,453]

Ditto in Sussex. Mrs. 45Doll was in Newton yesterday and swore she had some fine cinders fly into her eye. The smell was also obvious.

NJ Air Quality Alert: When will smoke and haze worsen, improve? (nj1015.com)

[oldguysrule649 386]

same here in Middletown, Monmouth County. Was out and about yesterday morning and early afternoon and it was not too noticeable. Didn’t think much of it. However in the evening after 7:00pm, it got dramatically worse. Strong smell and irritated eyes. As I type this I am at the bay shore in Port Monmouth. NYC is not visible at all, not even the Verrizano Bridge. Even the Navy ships docked at Earle are shrouded in haze.

Not a good situation for my asthma. Once I get home I plan  to change my furnace filter. I think I have one of those high quality ones on hand. 

 

[CMJeepster 2,675]

Horrible last night in Hopewell, Mercer County.  I thought that the wacko neighbor was "grilling" dinner.  He's infamous for smoking out the neighborhood.  I even texted his wife to ask if I should call the fire department.  She replied that they weren't home.

Our school district cancelled all outdoor activities, including a trip to the Philly Zoo today.

We put the A/C on and closed up the windows to keep this crap out of the house.

No pork roll was harmed in the making of this post.  @Mrs. Peel

[Lawnmower2021 394]

Looks clear today but the air quality numbers are worse than China.

[45Doll 5,453]

16 minutes ago, Lawnmower2021 said:

Looks clear today but the air quality numbers are worse than China.

Well stand by.

Up here in Sussex County when I got up this morning around 8, I could see some blue sky, the sunlight was hitting the ground, and the air looked fairly clear. My office windows face east but are screened off from the sun by the garage until around 11. But I didn't need any lights on in there this morning.

I just turned on lights in my office (at 11:10). The wind picked up, sky is now completely overcast (no blue at all), there's visible smoke in the air outside, the smell is now in the house, and my office was dark!

So this smoke cloud is definitely on the move again.

[CMJeepster 2,675]

Do you even orange alert, bro?

[45Doll 5,453]

1 minute ago, CMJeepster said:

Do you even orange alert, bro?

Is that a reference to Trump? LOL

[CMJeepster 2,675]

4 minutes ago, 45Doll said:

Is that a reference to Trump? LOL

Totally inadvertent, but funny nonetheless.  The meteorological term for what we're currently experiencing is, "Orange Alert."

DEQ Forecasts Code Red or Orange Air Quality for All NC on Wednesday | NC DEQ

[45Doll 5,453]

My main point is that over the last few days the smoke effects have been on and off. But the transition this morning was dramatic. Right now up here it looks like there's some severe weather coming; but there's no clouds.

Supposedly we're in the Red all day long here. Orange tomorrow. I'm putting off spreading more mulch today.

State AQI | AirNow.gov

Note: the interactive map says the whole state's in the Red!

Edited June 7 by 45Doll
Note added.

[Old Glock guy 1,081]

Pretty bad up here in north Jersey in Wayne.  My grandaughter's school day at the town pool was cancelled due to the poor air quality. 

[father-of-three 217]

2 hours ago, 45Doll said:

My main point is that over the last few days the smoke effects have been on and off. But the transition this morning was dramatic. Right now up here it looks like there's some severe weather coming; but there's no clouds.

Supposedly we're in the Red all day long here. Orange tomorrow. I'm putting off spreading more mulch today.

State AQI | AirNow.gov

Note: the interactive map says the whole state's in the Red!

I was hoping for some of that severe weather to water my brown grass.

[raz-0 1,249]

All I gotta say is damn it's getting bad in the Sayreville/Old Bridge area now. 

[1LtCAP 4,097]

it's REALLY hazy here in cherry hill today.

[45Doll 5,453]

Here's something odd. I was out for an hour, came back and walked into the great room. I was surprised to see that (looking at the floor) it appeared our track lighting had come one. (Some of it is electronically controlled.)

But wait a minute; the track lighting's not on. That's the sun coming through the skylights!

The smoke and haze filtered the sunlight to a spectrum that looked totally unnatural, and more resembled the incandescent lighting we have in place.

Weird! Never seen that before.

[Scorpio64 4,892]

FYI  If you have respiratory issues like I do, an N95 filters out most of the pollutants and a P100 completely eliminates them.  Remember, long before covid, these masks were meant for industrial use.

What you are breathing in smells like smoke, and it probably is mostly smoke (not that that is great) but you have to wonder what else you are breathing in.  Okay, I'll admit it, I''m kinda wondering why there are over 100 fires burning in Canada and if the smoke is a smokescreen for something else.

[CMJeepster 2,675]

We should build a wall to keep the smoke out.

[45Doll 5,453]

9 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Okay, I'll admit it, I''m kinda wondering why there are over 100 fires burning in Canada and if the smoke is a smokescreen for something else.

Illegal terrorists driving around with a few dozen newspapers and a butane lighter?

I've thought for a long time that arson during dry periods like this could easily be leveraged into something much more destructive than the Twin Towers collapse.

[silverado427 10,024]

Its pretty hazy in Ocean county. 

[Scorpio64 4,892]

21 minutes ago, 45Doll said:

Illegal terrorists driving around with a few dozen newspapers and a butane lighter?

I read a long time ago that the Chinese used to burn oleander, using it as a chemical weapon to wipe out villages down wind.  It may be some legend, I honestly don't know.

[voyager9 3,351]

It wasn’t bad this morning but had gotten worse throughout the day.   Now it’s really hazy in Hainesport.  Of course the kids wanted to go to the playground.   
 

[father-of-three 217]

The "PM2.5" scale which measures polltants had parts of Pennsylvania at 204 (201-500 is considered unhealthy.  I heard parts of New York were in the 300 range.

[eyeinstine 240]

1 hour ago, voyager9 said:

It wasn’t bad this morning but had gotten worse throughout the day.   Now it’s really hazy in Hainesport.  Of course the kids wanted to go to the playground.   
 

 

 

 

 

Hey! i helped install that playground! 

 

 

 

 

[raz-0 1,249]

2 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

Okay, I'll admit it, I''m kinda wondering why there are over 100 fires burning in Canada and if the smoke is a smokescreen for something else.

Most of Canada lacks people. So if stuff starts burning in the middle of nowhere, it can get a lot of burning done. 

 

2 hours ago, 45Doll said:

The smoke and haze filtered the sunlight to a spectrum that looked totally unnatural, and more resembled the incandescent lighting we have in place.

Weird! Never seen that before.

It was downright sepia toned around here around 1-2pm. 

[voyager9 3,351]

40 minutes ago, eyeinstine said:

Hey! i helped install that playground! 

My hats off to you.  My kids love it.  More than Fort Medford,  Memorial Park in Evesham, or Laurel Acres.   

[brucin 850]

59 minutes ago, father-of-three said:

The "PM2.5" scale which measures polltants had parts of Pennsylvania at 204 (201-500 is considered unhealthy.  I heard parts of New York were in the 300 range.

My weather is quoting an air quality index of 398 in Morris County. Don't know if that's the same thing.

[Krdshrk 3,801]

3 minutes ago, brucin said:

My weather is quoting an air quality index of 398 in Morris County. Don't know if that's the same thing.

https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Bridgewater&state=NJ&country=USA

315 right now in Bridgewater.  Put in your zip code and see what yours is.  I see a big hazardous chunk coming from the west too...