If you stepped outside at all Thursday, you likely noticed the gray, gloomy skies before anything else.

It's not clouds blocking out the sun today, but rather smoke from the Windy Fire and KNP Complex to our north.

The smoke is above ground level in Bakersfield today, so we've seen no air quality issues so far, but a little higher up in the Kern River Valley air quality has reached very unhealthy levels, and it's best to avoid the outdoors as much as possible in those areas.

The smoke kept our temperatures a bit cooler than they would have been too.

Highs will climb a bit on Friday, but with more thick smoke it's going to be tough to get a good forecast.

For now I'm going with mid 90s in the Valley, with unhealthy Air quality per the Valley Air District.

Looking ahead, much cooler (and fresher) air is coming!

Signs point to a BIG cooldown next week, with highs as low as the 70s in the Valley, with 60s possible in the mountains!