Kansas City, Mo. ? Smoke from pasture burnoffs in the Flint Hills of Kansas has been seen and smelled in a wide area of the state and into the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The haze showed up in satellite imagery Tuesday night and early Wednesday, as more central Kansas ranchers than usual burned their pastures at the same time. Winds from the southwest caused smoke to drift to the northeast.

National Weather Service meteorologist intern Audra Hennecke said radar indicated extensive burning over the Flint Hills and northern Oklahoma. She said ranchers are probably catching up on annual spring burns following a streak of wet weather.