Smoky skies and dry thunderstorms: Wildfire season hazards

Smoke from wildfires in the Western U.S. and Canada is pushing east into the Rockies, northern Plains, Midwest and beyond.

It's wildfire season in the Western U.S., and unfortunately, the impacts of fires can be felt hundreds, even thousands, of miles away from a blaze. As smoke from these fires is caught up by wind in the atmosphere through the rest of the week, lowering air quality will be an issue.

Our 6-day air quality forecast shows very unhealthy conditions moving in through Thursday across the Denver metro. Other cities that will likely experience worsening air quality include Helena and Billings, Mont., Spokane, Wash., Cheyenne, Wyo. and Minneapolis.

Another fire season concern that you can keep an eye out for with the WeatherRadar is dry thunderstorms. A "dry" thunderstorm produces little or no precipitation at the surface but still has lightning. Dry thunderstorms can ignite wildfires. Keep an eye on our LightningRadar to see if there are bolts near you.