Smoke forecast
Where the smoke over Detroit was, and where the model sends it next. Scrub back 12 hours or forward 48. Every hour shown is a model estimate, not a measurement.
The scale is anchored to visibility, because that is the one reading you can take yourself without trusting a model. Distances are approximate.
From Belle Isle the Renaissance Center is sharp three miles west, and the Windsor skyline reads clean across the river with the far shoreline holding.
The Ren Cen still reads from Belle Isle but has gone flat, and the Ambassador Bridge towers, about five miles out, have lost their cables.
From the riverfront the Ambassador Bridge is a shape without detail. Windsor is still there across the water but its buildings have merged.
The Ren Cen holds from Hart Plaza, under a mile off, while the towers behind it on the Detroit skyline fade out.
The top of the Ren Cen goes. From the riverfront you can lose Windsor entirely, a half mile across the water.
Detroit sits at the downwind end of a corridor running from the Canadian boreal forest through Ontario. Most smoke here originates in northern Ontario or Quebec and arrives on northerly and northeasterly flow, often after crossing Lake Huron. Because the source is usually east of the Rockies, Detroit frequently gets smoke on days when nothing in the American West is burning.
June 2023 is the reference event, when Quebec smoke pushed Detroit to among the worst air quality readings in the world for parts of two days and turned the sky a flat orange.
The verdict at the top of this page answers that for Detroit specifically. One thing worth knowing before you read it: because Detroit’s smoke comes from east of the Rockies, this city frequently has bad air on days when nothing in the American West is burning and the national fire map looks quiet. Everything shown is a model estimate rather than a measurement at your address.
That is the headline answer above: the clear time, the first stretch of at least six straight hours below the Hazy threshold. Detroit is far enough down the Ontario corridor that plumes tend to arrive as broad haze rather than sharp fronts, which usually makes the clear time a steadier answer here than it is in Winnipeg or Minneapolis, and a slower one.
Almost always northern Ontario or Quebec, arriving on northerly and northeasterly flow after crossing Lake Huron. That is the whole reason Detroit’s smoke days do not line up with western fire news. June 2023 is the event people here date it from, when Quebec smoke pushed the city to among the worst air quality readings in the world for parts of two days and turned the sky a flat orange.
The Canadian boreal forest by way of Ontario: northern Ontario or Quebec for most events, on northerly and northeasterly flow, usually crossing Lake Huron on the way. Toronto sits under the same plumes about a day earlier, which is why it is the upwind link on this page. Run the timeline backward on the map and the path comes down and across rather than in from the west.
The five-day strip above gives the day-by-day read and the timeline covers forty-eight hours hour by hour. Because the source is a day or more upwind in Ontario, the useful move here is to watch what is happening over Toronto and the Lake Huron crossing rather than the current hour over the Detroit River. Forecasts are sharpest one to two days out and the page shows where the models disagree.
Detroit has an international sightline that does the work for you: from Belle Isle, Windsor across the river should read clean with the far shoreline holding. The Ambassador Bridge is the next step. When its towers lose their cables at about five miles, something has arrived. Then the Ren Cen from Hart Plaza. When you can lose Windsor entirely from the riverfront, a half mile across the water, that is the bottom of the scale.
Where Detroit's smoke usually shows up first, and the places that share its air.
Northern Ontario and Quebec smoke crosses Toronto and Lake Huron before it reaches the Detroit River, usually about a day earlier.
Most smoke in the eastern half of the continent is Canadian, and it is old by the time it arrives.
Smokeshow is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not health, medical, or safety advice. Forecasts are model estimates and can be wrong, sometimes by a lot. Descriptions of what you might smell, see, or feel are generalizations, not predictions about your body. For decisions about your health, outdoor activity, or air quality safety, rely on official sources like AirNow.gov, the National Weather Service, and your local health authorities, and talk to a medical professional about your own situation.