Smoky skies

Sun through the smoky skies of Highland Falls - 7/16/26

Looks like we’ll have these conditions to look forward to every year! First in June of ‘23 and again in August of 2025, thick smoke blanketed the northeast including the skies over the SE corner of New York State. And here we are once again in the summer of 2026 with those same conditions. What is somewhat amazing it that this smoke is coming from wildfires in Canada hundreds of miles away. Air quality alerts have been issued for much of the northeastern US. As I did last year, I took a ride up to the top of nearby Bear Mountain to get a better look of how the smoke is impacting our part of the Hudson Valley.

Weather Service Satellite image of the cloud cover over NY this afternoon

On the downloaded map from the US Weather Service showing the actual cloud cover over New York State today, you can see that the area where we are located (about 2/3 of the distance south between Albany and New York City) is basically cloud free. We are definitely not smoke free, however, as the following map indicates.

Map showing the intensity of the smoke coming our way from Canada

Skies over Bear Mountain - 7/16/26

On a clear day, we can actually see the New York City skyline about 50 miles away from atop Bear Mountain. Not so today. A thick blanket of orange blankets the entire valley for as far as the eye can see in all direction. Here, we are looking to the southwest, and not only can we see the evidence of those fires in Canada, but there is a strong smoky smell as well.

Looking Southeast down onto the Hudson River - 7/16/26

Looking out from the summit to the Hudson River to our Southeast, one can see that the conditions are no better. How long the smoke will continue to cover our region depends upon the prevailing winds as well as how long those fires persist. We can only hope that there will be some heavy rain in the forecast for our neighbors to the north so that we can once again enjoy the clear crisp air of the Hudson Highlands.