Shocking Pictures Before & After Wildfire Smoke Rolled Into Niagara Falls

The wildfire smoke that has blanketed much of Western New York and Ontario yesterday and today has not been a joke. It changed the way the sky looked and the before and after pictures are pretty shocking.

By the time most of us had gotten to work on Wednesday, we noticed a major change in the way the sky looked. There was a brownish/yellow hue all around outside and the smell increased as the day went on.

What is causing the smoke?

The smoke is a combination of a bunch of different factors. It's the perfect storm of extreme summer heat, changing wind patterns, and severe drought. It's created wildfires in Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Minnesota. There are said to be well over 100 fires burning out of control in Ontario alone.

Because they're burning through forests they're creating a large amount of smoke that is going into the atmosphere. Then the winds are carrying them to us here in Western New York.

The difference 24 hours can make

It was a quick transition from the clear skies over Western New York on Tuesday to the hazy brown skies we saw on Wednesday. Spectrum News meteorologist Cory Smith posted a pretty shocking picture on X that showed the difference 24 hours made in the clarity of the air over Toronto and Niagara Falls.

The pictures were from Earth Cam.

We're not done with the smoke just yet

According to Sara Stierly from WIVB, we might not be done with the smoke yet. She's anticipating that this event could last throughout the day today as well.

They're encouraging people in sensitive health groups, children, and elderly people to stay inside if possible again today.