Smoke from the south and north. Tri-Cities caught in the middle

The Tri-Cities can’t catch a break on its smoky skies as the wind pattern shifts.

Smoke was drifting north Monday over the Tri-Cities from wildfires in California and Oregon, according the National Weather Service.

Although the breeze at ground level is blowing from the north, the air pattern aloft is moving the smoke northward across Washington.

Last week the smoke was drifting south and over the Tri-Cities from wildfires in Siberia, plus fires in Alaska and British Columbia, according to Washington Smoke Information, a multi-agency blog.

The National Weather Service says the widespread haze and patches of smoke over the area should persist through Tuesday.

Much of the smoke remained too high in the air over the weekend and Monday to have a major effect on air quality.

But enough smoke was mixing down to the ground level Monday to cause the Washington Department of Ecology to list air quality as “moderate,” rather than “good.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 12:18 PM.