Why Illinois Skies Look Different Today: 2 Key Reasons

I've noticed this over our home the past couple of days and it's even more prominent in some parts of Illinois today. There are a couple or reasons why skies over the Land of Lincoln have looked a little odd this week and in recent weeks, too.

I first spotted this shared by Ben Noll on X. It shows how smoke from wildfires in Canada are enveloping much of the northern half of Illinois right now. That's the primary reason why the skies look hazy over Illinois right now and have an orange tint around sunset.

The Fire and Smoke Viewer from Arcgis shows how much of Illinois has been covered by very thick wildfire smoke from the north.

Infographic, Arcgis

There's another reason why skies over Illinois have been weird over the past couple of weeks

The WeatherWise app shows that the GEOS satellite is showing dust over parts of Illinois and Missouri now.

Infographic, WeatherWise app

When you add that dust and wildfire smoke to the already unpredictable weather conditions that happen over Illinois on a regular day, that makes the current sky situation all the more weird.