The sky make look a g a bit more orange, milky, or hazy over the next couple of days, as a plume of wildfire smoke is traveling hundreds of miles directly into the Northeast.
This smoke comes from a sudden flare-up of intense wildfire activity in far northern Minnesota and neighboring Ontario, Canada, where hot, dry and windy conditions sparked explosive fire growth. Thanks to a favorable jet stream pattern, that smoke is advecting (moving horizontally) straight into New England’s backyard.
Here is what this means for outdoor plans, Boston’s temperatures and evening sunsets.
Wildfire smoke predicted to blow into New England Tuesday, July 15, 2026. (Danielle Noyes/1DegreeOutside)
The first question that follows with wildfire smoke is always “Do I need to worry about my health?” Fortunately, the answer for this stretch appears to be no. On the whole, wildfires have led to increasing spikes in air pollution in Massachusetts. But the vast majority of this incoming smoke layer is constrained aloft, meaning it is trapped miles above ground and won’t impact the ground-level air quality or cause respiratory health problems.
Sometimes the wind allows for some mixing of the smoke down to the surface, and that creates almost a foggy appearance around the area with a smell of smoke in the air. Look for that trend closely over the next 24-48 hours especially.
Wildfire smoke predicted to flow over New England Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Danielle Noyes/1DegreeOutside)
A dense layer of high-altitude smoke acts like a giant, semi-translucent sponge. It filters and scatters the incoming solar radiation from the sun, which can have a few interesting side effects:
- Hazy, milky skies: Instead of a crisp, deep blue, expect the sky to have a distinctly hazy, whiteish appearance.
- Underperforming temperatures: Because the smoke blocks some of the sun’s energy from heating the ground, afternoon temperatures might underperform by a few degrees compared to the official forecast.
- A cap on storms? This lack of intense surface heating can also lead to less overall instability in the atmosphere.
Vibrant sunsets
While the daytime sky might look a little gloomy Tuesday and Wednesday, the smoke will amplify the early evening sky.
How smoke changes the sunset:
- Blue and violet light: Blocked and scattered away by tiny smoke particles.
- Red and orange light: Amplified and allowed to pass through.
Because smoke particles perfectly scatter shorter wavelengths of light (like blues and purples) while amplifying longer wavelengths (like reds and oranges), the region is in for some incredibly vibrant, fiery sunsets.
We’ll monitor the smoke plume’s path, so make sure to check the 1DegreeOutside app.
