Haze from Canadian wildfires to return but stay up higher in atmosphere

Haze from Canadian wildfires will descend on Metro Detroit Monday but it shouldn't be low enough to force another air quality alert, said the National Weather Service.

Monday will likely see a thunderstorm with temperatures in the high 70s as well as some haze from the wildfires. According to a tweet from the National Weather Service Detroit, a cold front south of the Upper Peninsula will contribute to some scattered showers and storms.

"With the northwestern wind that is setting up, we're going to get some of the smoke aloft. It's surface-based, so at least today, we're not going to have an air quality alert for it," said Dave Kook, a meteorologist at National Weather Service Detroit.

The wind will bring some smoke down over the Great Lakes, but not low enough to make an air quality alert, he said.

"We'll be watching day-to-day to see if that smoke can work down to the ground or not, but it will be up higher in the atmosphere, so you'll probably see some haze the next few days," Kook said.

Haze from out-of-control Canadian wildfires has been ongoing issue all summer in Metro Detroit, triggering dozens of air quality alerts and, at times, creating some of the worst air quality in the world. According to Canada's National Wildland Fire Situation Report, 233 fires were burning as of July 26.

Tuesday and Wednesday in Metro Detroit will likely be sunny and dry with temperatures in the 80s. Thursday and Friday brings the possibility for rain and thunderstorms as humid temperatures continue in the 80s.

mjohnson@detroitnews.com