Smoke particles from wildfires raging in Quebec will lower the air quality along the Maine coast on Friday.
Moderate particle pollution will likely move along the eastern side of a low pressure system currently insulating the state from the worst of the smoke, making its way through the Gulf of Maine, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters believe the smoke could move inland throughout the day, but the outlook remains uncertain.
So far, a persistent area of low pressure that has produced rainy skies in Maine has kept the majority of the smoke at bay.
“Right now all of the smoke is missing our area because of a low pressure over Maine,” said Anne Strauser, meteorologist with Caribou NWS. “The smoke from Quebec is circling around that big low, and we are like the center of that circle.”
Southern and western New England have seen some of the worst air quality in recorded history due to Canadian wildfire smoke. On Wednesday, New York City broke its record for the worst air quality the city has ever seen and was recently ranked as the worst air quality of any major city in the world.
