June 30, 2008
Another Day of Unhealthy Air Quality in the West as Smoke Moves North into Oregon
It’s been another day of Code Red (Unhealthy) and Code Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) air quality in the west. As Ray reported yesterday, the good news is that air quality is improving along the California coast and Central Valley, but the bad news is that smoke from the California wildfires is moving north into southern and central Oregon, and air quality is degrading there as a result. The loops of today’s PM2.5 conditions in California (on left) and Oregon (on right) show the relative improvement in California’s air quality and the deteriorating conditions in Oregon, with Code Orange and Red PM2.5 across the southern portion of the state.
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The 29 fires in California have burned 366,656 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Today’s MODIS Terra true color image (below) shows smoke from the fires extending from northern California into southern Oregon; it’s a bit difficult to discern the smoke in the image today with all the clouds inland and along the coastline.
Poor air quality conditions are expected to be widespread across the west on Tuesday. The image below shows the official AQI forecasts for Tuesday in Google Earth. Code Red ozone levels are expected for interior regions of the Los Angeles area, while Code Orange conditions are predicted for the Central Valley, inland San Diego, southern Oregon, and urban areas of Colorado. If you live in these areas, keep an eye on the air quality tomorrow.
Elsewhere in the nation, air quality is in the good to moderate range. A cold front is moving through the east this evening, bringing Code Green conditions in its wake. Some Code Yellow (Moderate) PM2.5 persists along the Gulf Coast, likely due to the influence of the Saharan dust that we have been discussing for the past several days. Today’s GASP AOD loop (below) shows elevated AOD associated with the Saharan dust over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic Ocean.
Although air quality is slowly improving in California, this is only the beginning of the fire season in the west. Red Flag warnings are posted for tonight into Tuesday for much of the west, including parts of interior Washington, eastern Oregon, western Nevada, much of Utah, and southwestern Colorado. A Red Flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will occur shortly. In this case, thunderstorms are forecast to move through the warned regions; lightning and gusty winds associated with the storms will provide the potential for ignition and explosive fire growth. If you live in the warned regions, be aware of the fire potential tonight and Tuesday.
Posted by Amy Huff at June 30, 2008 7:30 PM | TrackBack