Smoke from Canadian and Alaskan wildfires turns Midwest moon orange

Don’t be alarmed if the moon looks a little orange or the sun seems a bit … well, neon … for the next couple of days.

Upper-level winds are blowing smoke from Canadian and Alaskan wildfires into the central United States and as far south as southern Missouri.

In the Kansas City area, afternoon skies might appear hazy. The haze could provide some nice sunsets the next few days, according to the National Weather Service.

That’s weather permitting, of course.

Here’s how the smoke has drifted:

(Red is heavy smoke, yellow is medium smoke and green is light smoke.)

A Facebook post by the National Weather Service about the Jupiter and Venus conjunction Tuesday and Wednesday nights reference the smoke and how it could make viewing the moon interesting.

That prompted several responses by people posting pictures of orange-colored moons and pink-looking suns.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines tweeted out two images showing radar showing rain and satellite imagery of the fires and smoke.

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 2:27 PM.