You may have noticed some hazy skies recently in Iowa, which weather officials say is coming from the west coast.

Weatherology Meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber tells Raccoon Valley Radio the haze is due to wildfires in 13 states from primarily California, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon and smoke from those fires continue across the country to even the east coast. Thalhuber says when there’s wildfires that create lots of smoke, haze then travels high above the atmosphere via the jet stream.

“That’s what’s being carried into the area. Well we need wind to make things go away, and unfortunately when we’re stuck in a high pressure pattern, we don’t have a lot of winds to work with. So the air becomes very stagnant, we don’t get a lot of flow, and that’s why the haze continues to just kind of linger for several days.”     

Thalhuber says haze can get bad enough to warrant an air quality alert, but levels remain stable. However, Thalhuber notes those who have chronic breathing problems should stay indoors more often while the haze continues through the next several days. She adds a positive from seeing lots of haze is that it creates very scenic sunrises and sunsets.