It's been almost a year since the city had "orange skies" due to the 2023 Canadian wildfires - could it happen again this summer?

"I don't know if I'm prepared for it," said Canarsie resident Kavonne Williams.

Williams says they were also unprepared for the orange skies last June.

News 12 Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Allan Nosoff points out that no one was prepared.

"People got caught off guard last year, we don't want that to happen again this year," said Nosoff.

As our climate changes, so do the air patterns.

Last summer, new air patterns started carrying Canadian wildfire smoke down to the area and it could happen again.

"The jet stream kind of slows down and dips to our area from Canada to us, and that smoke has nowhere to go," Nosoff.

The general advice is to avoid the outdoors when there are smoky skies and wear a mask when heading outside.

"It only takes a little bit of that change in the jet stream, that perfect angle like we saw last year. Honestly, it's a 50/50 shot if we see a repeat of last year. Bank on it happening, and it's a good thing if it doesn't," said Nosoff.

If it happens again, Williams says they will stay inside and not go to work.