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Footage from traffic cameras spread out across the Bay Area showed an eerie orange and yellow sky Wednesday morning. Some described the scene as “apocalyptic.”
Saturday marks exactly three years since intense shades of orange filled the sky over the Bay Area.
Filtered sunlight coming through smog, wildfire smoke and ash created the apocalyptic look. We were also reminded of it over the summer when New York City went through a similar experience.
"It was surreal to live through it because it seemed like the sun never came up that morning," NBC Bay Area Meteorologist Kari Hall previously said. "With all of the blinds open it was so dark at home and the orange hue made it eerie outside."
Bay Area residents woke up to an orange sky Wednesday. The sun filtered through smoke and ash everywhere and in some places, the sun never made an appearance at all. The eerie view made people stay in, damaging already-struggling Walnut Creek restaurants.Cheryl Hurd reports.
Relive that ominous day by clicking through the gallery below.
Brian Tang
Orange sky over San Pablo. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Chris Wendle
Yellowish sky in San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Stephen Lerch
Orange sky over El Cerrito. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Alexander Nguyen
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Alexander Nguyen
Orange sky above San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
David McGinn
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Casey Kasten
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Jonathan Bloom/NBC Bay Area
An orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
An orange sky above San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
An orange sky above the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Terry McSweeney/NBC Bay Area
An orange sky over Sausalito. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Bigad Shaban/NBC Bay Area
Orange sky over San Francisco. (Sept. 9, 2020)
Nick White Photography
The sky has turned a yellowish color in Sausalito as fires continue to rage across California. (Sep. 9, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 7, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
A yellowish haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
Scott Budman/NBC Bay Area
A reddish sun as seen from the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
Meghan Quan
A reddish sun as seen from San Rafael. (Sept. 8, 2020)
NBC Bay Area
Smoky haze in the Bay Area. (Sept. 8, 2020)
For another perspective, check out the video below to see how the sky looked from NBC Bay Area's network of traffic cameras spread out across the region.
So, how exactly did this happen? Hall said it all has to do with smoke pollution's impact on sunlight.
Rob Mayeda explains why the sky turned from blue to orange due to the wildfires.
"The thick plumes of smoke reflected the sun’s “shortwaves” back upward above the smoke, which makes the sky appear blue. Instead, we had only the “longwaves” of the sun’s light, which was refracted by the smoke particles in the air, making it appear red and orange all around us," she said.
