When will the wildfire smoke in Colorado move out?

Much of Colorado remained under moderate to thick wildfire smoke Tuesday evening, with many across the Denver metro area reporting the worst smoke of the stretch. Extended time outdoors was enough to smell the smoke, feel burning in the eyes and see a thick haze along the horizon.

There is better news on the way. A wind shift will help push the thicker smoke out of northern Colorado on Wednesday. Areas along and north of Interstate 70 should see much lighter smoke by Wednesday morning, with little to no near-surface wildfire smoke expected by Wednesday evening.

Colorado's Front Range is also expected to get a break from air quality alerts. No ozone or other pollutant advisories are in effect through at least 4 p.m. Wednesday for the Front Range Urban Corridor, including Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Greeley.

Southern Colorado will take longer to clear out. Wildfire smoke will still be possible on Wednesday across the southern mountains and southern Colorado, where smoke advisories remain in place for several counties. By Thursday, southern Colorado will see a huge improvement with regard to wildfire smoke.

A bigger improvement is expected for much of the state by Thursday. Daily shower and thunderstorm chances will continue through Friday.

Most areas will still stay dry, but the increase in moisture near the surface is good news. Even without widespread rain, higher moisture helps limit rapid fire growth and gives firefighters a better window to increase containment on active fires.