Smoke from the West Coast fires has reached all the way to Washington, D.C.

You've seen the harrowing images of West Coast skies this past week, as wildfires continue to rage across California, Oregon, and Washington. Now, the smoke that created that apocalyptic orange glow has moved across the country, though the air quality and appearance is nowhere near as drastic as in the Pacific states.

The National Weather Service office in Sterling, Virginia, confirmed that the "hazy appearance to the sky" in the Washington, D.C. area on Monday is a result of smoke from the western fires getting caught in the jet stream and floating swiftly toward the Atlantic.

Indeed, both NASA and AirNow — which monitors U.S. air quality — predict the smoke plume area will stretch far and wide this week. Tim O'Donnell

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up