Wildfires burning across several Canadian provinces, including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, are producing vast amounts of smoke that are traveling far beyond their points of origin. Due to the intense heat generated by these fires, smoke and ash are lifted high into the atmosphere, where upper-level winds carry them across long distances. In recent days, some of that smoke has reached North Carolina, prompting air quality concerns and hazy skies.

Nicholas Luchetti from the National Weather Service in Raleigh joined Jeff Hamlin to explain how weather patterns are carrying the smoke southward and what impact it may have on air quality and visibility in the state.