This weekend we'll be free from the oppressive summer heat, but that'll be replaced by more adverse conditions as smoke is streaming down into the southeast. Environment and Climate Change Canada put Saturday as the starting point for smoke to trail down from the wildfires up north into our area.
Meteorologist Crawford Luke details some of the recent conditions that have led to a puff of smoke heading to the southeast.
"There are kind of a couple of things going on with this. So one is, unfortunately, over the last few days, the fires up north have been kind of trending in the wrong direction, unfortunately. Then, in terms of the weather for today, we've had that cold front come through earlier this morning. So behind that cold front, we're kind of into these northerly winds now.
"What that's basically going to do with time is is blow the smoke down from those fires up north and bring it all the way to the southeast corner of Saskatchewan, including Estevan, unfortunately. It looks like anticipated arrival would be Saturday morning sometime."
That smoke may end up being sticky depending on some of the conditions, says Luke.
"Right now, it kind of looks like it could stick with us through Saturday night. Sunday, it's a bit hard to say if it'll continue to drift south into the states, or if it'll hang around on the Saskatchewan side. The other thing, too, is we'll have to see what happens with the fires today and tomorrow. If they continue to grow and put out more smoke, then that could mean more smoke for the rest of the weekend."
At the latest, Tuesday will see a shift back to warmer weather, subsequently bringing southerly winds and blowing away the smoke.
Luke doesn't expect the smoke to last all that long into next week.
"It kind of looks even perhaps by Monday, certainly sometime next week, it looks like the wind should shift and perhaps as soon as Monday, and then blow it somewhere else and away from Estevan, basically."
As the smoke heads into the area this weekend, Luke reminds people to keep an eye out for any air quality alerts and to head inside if smoke does end up in the air.