By Kyler Johnson/Gator Galaxy Staff
If you’ve looked up in the sky the past couple of nights you might have realized that the moon has been an orange color. The moon itself isn’t actually orange, the color of the moon is actually because of wildfires raging in the northwestern part of the United States and in Canada.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are currently over 70 wildfires raging right now. Nine of those are very large wildfires. One of the biggest causes for the wildfires are the dry conditions being experienced across the western U.S. Most of the northwest is experiencing severe drought.
The current position of the jet stream is pushing the smoke across portions of the central U.S. which includes Nebraska. As wildfires continue to burn, smoke gets released up into the air and follows the path of the jet stream.
A pattern change isn’t expected until next weekend, so we may have to get used to an orange-hazy looking moon for a few days.
Be sure to head outside and get some photos of the beautiful moon, because it won’t last forever. To follow the latest wildfire activity visit: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/
