Why Has the Sun Been So Unusually Bright Orange in New Jersey Lately?

Have you noticed it's been unusually hazy at the Jersey Shore recently, especially Monday and Tuesday? Also, the sun has been bright and orange as well. Believe it or not, it wasn't the heat and humidity causing it. 

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This was sunrise on Tuesday. My brother took this picture with no filter. I've honestly never seen the sun that color in my life.

The milky sky we are seeing is actually smoke from wildfires that are burning in the western part of the United States and Canada.

In fact, on Tuesday, an air quality alert went into effect for Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties.

People much smarter than me at NOAA report that plumes of smoke from the west have been carried east with the jet stream, or upper-level currents of air. Isn't the weather fascinating?

We've had a stretch of hot and humid days, so at first, I thought it was just muggy. But there was something different about the sky on Tuesday.

Here's another cool pic that showed up on my Instagram feed.

This is over the water in Long Branch.

Forecasters are expecting the smoke in our area to stick around for a while. It may remain hazy and with that haze, you may see some pretty awesome sunrises and sunsets, depending on what the weather is like.

Heads up to those that are sensitive to air quality. It would be wise to stay indoors if possible.