Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed Boston by Tuesday afternoon and turned the sky hazy yellowish-brown, answering why is the sun orange today for a lot of people looking up and seeing less sun than sky. The smoke arrived earlier than expected and cut into peak heating, even though the city still reached 90 degrees.
Boston Haze And 90 Degrees
The smoke blocked out much of the sun and kept Boston about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than forecast, with the day topping out at 90 instead of 97 degrees. That left the city hot, but not as hot as the forecast had suggested before the smoke moved in.
The smoke also changed the feel of the day across Greater Boston and Southern New England. More hazy skies were expected beginning in the morning on Wednesday, with some of the heavier smoke holding over portions of Southern New England, including Boston, and scattered air quality alerts were expected across the region.
New England Smoke And Storms
Another hot day was expected on Wednesday, and wildfire smoke may again keep temperatures a nudge cooler. The outlook called for a front to slide south through Southern New England during the day, sparking scattered showers that were expected to stay pretty light, with Boston possibly catching a brief, passing shower.
The smoke and the front were moving through a region already dealing with other weather trouble. Strong-to-severe thunderstorms were pushing into Northern New England in the afternoon, especially New Hampshire and Maine, and they were expected to keep firing into the night with the potential to produce damaging winds, hail, and even an isolated tornado.
For Wednesday, Greater Boston was expected to land somewhere between 88 and 95 degrees, with winds of 10 to 20 mph at times across Greater Boston and the entire Southern New England region. Dew points were expected to drop as much as 15 degrees from sunrise to sunset, but heat stress would remain high for most of the day.
Southern New England Outlook
Outside Boston, the pattern stayed hot, hazy, and breezy. Central/Western Mass. was expected to be hot with decreasing humidity and some wildfire haze, the Berkshires were expected to reach the mid-80s, the east low 90s, and Southeastern Mass. was expected to see low to mid-80s with a bit of a breeze.
Rhode Island was also expected to stay hot with some haze, with highs in the upper 80s to mid-90s. The lingering smoke was expected to keep parts of Southern New England under scattered air quality alerts, while the exact amount of smoke still hanging over Boston later on Wednesday was not fully settled.
