Skies Turned Yellow A Year Ago In Bergen, Hudson. What Happened To Wildfires?

BERGEN AND HUDSON COUNTIES, NJ — On June 7, 2023, North Jersey turned yellow due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that drifted south. At the time officials warned that particulates in the air could make it unhealthy to breathe, especially for the young and infirm.

On Tuesday — just a few days before the anniversary of that day — a rare air quality alert was issued again for Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Passaic, and Union counties until 11 p.m., but this time, it wasn't because of wildfire smoke.

"An Air Quality Action Day means that Ground Level Ozone within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards," said the National Weather Service as part of Tuesday's forecast.

(See your neighbors' photos of the wildfire smoke and yellow skies last June 2023)

AirNow.Gov indicated that the quality in northeast New Jersey was "moderate" on Tuesday morning, but may later become "unhealthy for sensitive groups." Use these links to check the updated information and maps.

See the NJ Department of Environmental Protection map here. See Airnow's fire and smoke map here.

And what of the Canadian wildfires?

Experts say that the 2023 season was extreme, and that many of the fires went underground for winter.

Not as many are burning now, according to maps.

Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to reach 82 on Tuesday. Thunderstorms are forecast for Wednesday evening into Thursday. See the forecast here.

Get Updates With These Links

Forecasting weather is an imperfect science, so it's best to be prepared, then to check the most up-to-date numbers:

• Keep an eye on the radar here.
• See a current map of all watches and warnings in New Jersey here.

See the updated NWS forecasts, watches, and warnings for North Jersey:

• Bergen County here
• Essex County here
• Hudson County here

What about the rivers? This NWS map of the United States will show the potential for flooding.

Come back to Patch for updates.