U.S. Air Quality

Some residual light haze in the Pacific Northwest

Air quality conditions were mostly good across the U.S. today. The exception was the Pacific Northwest, where fine particle concentrations started out poorly in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, but improved during the day (see the animated image from AIRNow on the right). The MODIS Aqua true color image (left) shows unseasonably cloud-free skies in the region, with snow in the mountains. Some haze is slightly visible near the coast and over the Pacific, where the surface reflectance is darker. The contrails off Oregon's coast are also indicative of light haze. Otherwise, a beautiful day.