Wildfire, Litchfield
- When
- July 5, 8:00 PM EST to July 7, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Litchfield forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 41.847, -73.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Smoke, from many forest fires across the Nemiscau region of northern Quebec, became trapped under a subsidence inversion, and was transported south across northwestern Connecticut from the evening hours of July 5, to the late evening of July 7. The forest fires were sparked by exceptionally hot and dry weather over that part of Canada followed by an unsual amount of thunderstorm activity, resulting in many lightning strikes. The circulation between high pressure over Hudsons Bay and a low pressure off the Canadian Maritimes transported the smoke southward. The smoke obscured the sky, and even reduced surface visiblities to as low as one mile, especially on the early morning of July 7. Advisories were issued warning people with respiratory problems to remain indoors and all individuals to curb outside activity. No major problems were reported to the National Weather Service as a result of this smoke. By late Sunday, July 7, the low pressure weakened and moved further east, allowing the wind to back into more of a westerly direction, finally dissipating the smoke.