Fascinating "Smoke Front" Over Vermont On Monday

A "smoke front" over New England Monday.
North of Route 4 in Vermont and New Hampshire, it
was clear and bright. South of that rough line,
it was hazy from smoke aloft. 

Just a quick post today, building on what I called the "smoke front" that I mentioned was in southern Quebec Sunday.  

It was a fascinating feature that moved south into Vermont on Monday. North of this "front" it was crystal clear. South of it, not so much. 

I personally don't like it when that smoky haze builds up in the atmosphere. I love what I call classic Blue/Green days, and I look forward to them each year.  

Which is what we had in northern Vermont Monday. The sky was a dazzling, deep, crisp blue. The green trees shimmered in the bright sunshine and light breezes.

Just a gorgeous day. The smoke was gone, at least for a little while. 

But it wasn't far away. A visible satellite photo from Monday afternoon illustrates this. Click on the satellite photo to make it bigger and easier to see.

Far northern New York, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and Quebec was clear and bright.  However, there was a sharp dividing line through Rutland and Windsor counties, south of which the smoke remained. 

Click on the satellite photo to make it bigger and easier to see.

That sharp line had been over southern Quebec Sunday, but moved south. 

Crisp, clean blue skies and bright sunshine north of the
"smoke front" on Monday afternoon in St. Albans, Vermont

This "smoke front" was really a cold front that sort of washed out as it hit southern Vermont. You could tell by the temperatures, too. It was only in the low 60s across northern Vermont Monday but in the low 70s south. 

The smoke, of course, is coming back, so it was a short reprieve. The skies over northern Vermont were still nice and blue this morning, but this morning's satellite views show that "smoke front" getting more diffuse and the high altitude haze heading north and east again. 

South winds ahead of a strong cold front that is due tomorrow will ensure the smoky haze will last at last until the cold front comes through. 

Lucky for us, the smoke has stayed mostly aloft all this month, so we haven't had any real health issues with this, like other parts of the nation have. 

There's still a lot of smoke drifting over vast areas of North America, and the Alberta fires are still raging. 

Smoke forecasts say it will be hazy over Vermont by noon today, and stay that way into tomorrow. That next strong cold front on Wednesday should clear us out nicely for a sunny, bright, but cool Thursday.

Those smoke forecasts do have all that atmospheric smoke over North America dissipating somewhat over the next several days, so maybe we'll have at least a temporary break from the hazy skies as we move toward the end of the month.