You may have noticed smoke and haze in the Tampa Bay area. That smoke and haze have traveled quite a long way to get here.
The smoke came from Canadian wildfires. It has blown all over the United States, and on Tuesday, it finally reached Florida. ABC Action News Meteorologist Greg Dee said winds from the northeast carried the smoke across the east coast and impacted conditions all across the area.
"I even made a mention that it kind of looked very foggy, and then we started smelling barbeque, like it actually smelled like a good barbeque," said Shadi Dandan, who was taking a walk on Bayshore.
Dandan and Erica Bosque didn't just see the difference in the air on Tuesday, they felt it.
"I was a bit sleepy most of the day because it seemed a little bit difficult to breathe," said Bosque.
ABC Action News Meteorologist Shay Ryan said this isn't a common set up, but all the elements came together on Tuesday.
"What we have going on is an area of high pressure to our north, and then the wind flow pattern around it is clockwise, so it's grabbing, you could say, the smoke from Canada, and it's bringing it all the way around, and because this area of high pressure is intense and the winds as you noticed were quite gusty yesterday, those strong winds are actually bringing that smoke all the way into our area," said Ryan.
On Tuesday, air quality concerns sparked an air quality alert from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Air quality levels in much of the area were considered "unhealthy" at times on Tuesday and into Wednesday morning.
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued an Air Quality Alert due to elevated levels of Particulate Matter of 2.5 micrometers or less until 8 AM EDT Wednesday.
Members of sensitive groups may experience adverse health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
ABC Action News Chief Meteorologist Denis Phillips discussed the issue Tuesday night during his Denis Phillips Live segment on Facebook.
The air quality alert was allowed to expire at 8 a.m. Wednesday even though visibility and haze remained in the area. At one point over the Tampa area, the EPA said the air quality remained in the moderate category, but by Wednesday afternoon, parts of the area were considered "moderate" or "good," according to data from AirNow.
Dr. Kathryn Convers with Lakeland Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology explained how this could impact certain people.
"Especially in our patient population where we're seeing patients who have a lot of asthma, allergies, COPD, they can experience and a lot of them did experience some cough, a sense of wheeziness or shortness of breath or some chest pain," said Dr. Convers. "Several of our patients reported they felt they had to use their rescue inhaler if they spent a lot of time outdoors."
The National Weather Service said forecast models show continuing improvement in the air quality across the area Wednesday afternoon and evening.
“There’s a couple of factors that are involved in when this haze or when we could see the smoke moving out. One is of course if the fires are under control and the winds lighten up that decreases the chances of that smoke getting to our area," said Ryan. "The other is when that high pressure system moves, and this is going to be headed out of our area and off into the Atlantic and get replaced by the cool front that’s coming in this weekend, so that set up is going to completely change the dynamics of where our winds are coming from and will eliminate the chances of seeing any of that smoke in our area.”
