Wind change brings relief to Metro Vancouver’s smoky skies

As smoke choked Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley for days, incoming winds are bringing relief to the region.

An air quality advisory has been in place since last Friday, with wildfires burning in B.C., Washington state, and Oregon wafting smoke into the Lower Mainland.

CityNews Meteorologist Michael Kuss says the increase in wind beginning Thursday afternoon will draw in fresh, clean air.

Related Articles:

• North Shore fireworks concerns raised amid drought

• Metro Vancouver’s air quality worsens before relief later this week

• Metro Vancouver’s smoky skies to stick around

“We’ll start to see that smoke getting flushed out later in the day today. You’ll notice it more dramatically through the day on Friday,” he explained.

The weather pattern has been so stagnant, Kuss says, that the smoke we’ve seen in the Lower Mainland has been locked in, thanks to the mountains in the region.

“It’s going to take a little bit to break it out to clear it out of here. So, even with the northwesterly wind developing this afternoon, we’re going to see improving air quality but it will take a couple of days before all that smoke is gone.”

Although rain is on the way for the region, Kuss says smoke will stick around to some degree in the area until the wildfires are completely out.

“It will take a couple of days to flush it out. Even with the winds picking up out of the northwest today, it will still be hazy through the late day.

“[With] rain developing tomorrow, that’s going to help but it’s going to take a few days of wet weather and a consistent wind pattern from offshore to really clear things out completely.”