SEE: Ominous Bay Area Skies Darkened By Smoke Amid Wildfires

BAY AREA, CA — Ash-coated lawns. Skies tinted by apocalyptic orange and yellow hues. Street lights flickering on amid a summer day. The Bay Area was almost unrecognizable Wednesday, with hazy skies even cloaking neighbors' homes in smoke in some areas.

Drivers have flipped on their headlights as an unprecedented amount of smoke heads south over the Bay Area, the National Weather Service said Wednesday morning.

A South San Francisco resident who said they had lived in the Bay Area for 53 years couldn't recall ever seeing the skies in such a state. Some wondered: Did we awaken to find ourselves on Mars? Is the end of the world imminent?

"If you told me that I was actually in hell right now, I would believe you," wrote Jim Tang on Twitter.

Some areas, including Alameda County, experienced poor air quality. Alameda County Fire warned residents should stay inside and drive slowly when traveling.

But in other areas, air quality levels remained closer to normal. Residents couldn't even catch a whiff of smoke in the air.

SFGate reported smoke from Mendocino County fires is hovering above the marine layer, which is acting as a barrier to keep smoke out of some areas.

Smoke-filled skies are keeping temperatures slightly cooler, the NWS said. Weather conditions remain dry.

So depending on where you live in the Bay Area, it might be safe to venture outdoors. But you could be forgiven for thinking the eerie skies aren't exactly inviting.

"Strange skies over the Bay Area again this morning," wrote Connie Guglielmo of CNET on Twitter. "Ominous music optional."

See photos of the skies posted on social media:

Good morning San Francisco Bay Area orange skies The photos aren’t even capturing how apocalyptic this looks pic.twitter.com/32WvsQPZ8E
— Carla (@DoctorWC) September 9, 2020

The sky in the Bay Area right now. Everything is fine... 2020 is going great... #wildfires #2020 pic.twitter.com/x0L3g8cJU1
— Sylvain Frayer (@salty_friend) September 9, 2020

If you told me that I was actually in hell right now, I would believe you. Apocalyptic feel to the sky across the Bay Area right now. pic.twitter.com/iQvVbNTylD
— Jim Tang (@wxmann) September 9, 2020

True color of the skies in he Bay Area, no filters used. pic.twitter.com/evXRRJrYFp
— Danai Lamb (@DanaiLamb) September 9, 2020

This is how the sky over the Bay Area looks like at 9:40am. pic.twitter.com/OGnPM38lV4
— Jing Tao (@JingTao80289511) September 9, 2020

Have your own photos to share? Learn how to share them with your neighbors in Patch's Neighbor Posts section.

Read the full NWS forecast here.

See more:

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