It is mid-day in the San Francisco Bay Area but the skies are dark and orange from high altitude smoke.
In previous weeks there was low altitude smoke which made for low highway visibility. However, today the light levels are like just before sunset.
Satellite pictures show dense smoke covering nearly the entire state of California. Here is a picture from Daniel Swain.
There are fires all over California. There is smoke from those fires and fires in Oregon.
Extremely dense & tall smoke plumes from numerous large wildfires, some of which have been generating nocturnal pyrocumulunimbus clouds ("fire thunderstorms"), are almost completely blocking out the sun across some portions of Northern California this morning. #CAwx #CAfire pic.twitter.com/y9evl4u0eq
— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) September 9, 2020
SOURCES- Picture out my front door, twitter Daniel Swain
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I read that headline as, "Dank Skies Over California."
Yes. I think it actually brought down the temperature. They were forecasting more hot Santa Ana winds but they never showed. It was pleasant, in fact, yesterday. It did not smell particularly smoky. Most of the smoke is high up. But I did wake last night at 2:30AM and my throat felt sore from smoke, so there is definitely some smoke low as well…just not as much.
I was also thinking it looked otherworldly or like it was frozen at dusk all day. Today, is not quite normal, but much less dim than a couple days ago.
To me it sounds like Northern California is much, much worse. There is a little microscopic ash here in SD County, no flakes, or I did not see any here. I suppose that is the first time anyone has said that about Southern California.
Its probably like living on the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan, with its perpetually overcast amber skies. But a lot warmer– of course:-)
We saw a touch of this in Arizona – skies oddly hazy all day, sun deep red hours after dawn and hours before sunset. A hint of a smoky smell in the air after we got a bit of rain. Moon reddish most of the night.
Thanks California. You make life interesting, as in the Chinese curse.
Its like surviving the aftermath of a global nuclear war (Alas Babylon!). The skies are like a perpetual sunset in the Bay Area– except there's no sun– just an extremely dim amber overcast. Its amazing!
"The car this morning was totally covered in fine white ash. Turning on the windshield-wiper scooped it up into a muddy brown drool. I'll definitely have to wash the car once this passes."
You'll have to replace cabin and/or engine air filters too.
Red skies here in southern CA too. Kinda like waking up on a different world orbiting a red star. Needs moar moonz.
Indeed… here in Hayward CA (close to Fremont, not as close to San Jose, and further yet from SF), the skies to the West are dark orange-brown. Took a trip to market just a half hour back (0945), and all the city street lights were on; all car automatic-headlights, on. Felt like I was driving around wearing those dark orange skier goggles. Except I couldn't take 'em off!
The car this morning was totally covered in fine white ash. Turning on the windshield-wiper scooped it up into a muddy brown drool. I'll definitely have to wash the car once this passes.
As far as I remember it, this was the scenario played out in the 1970s for a Nuclear Winter event, but with substantially more widespread issues.
Oddly, whereas last week with the much closer fires, the smell of smoke was strong, with this stuff, there is no smokey aroma at all. Just dark orange-brown skies.
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