U.S. Air Quality

Smoke Over Midwest / Good Conditions for Rest of U.S

NOAA's Hazard Mapping System (HMS) reported smoke still over the Great Lakes and the Midwest region of the US, covering the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada (as shown in the HMS map below left). The Terra MODIS AOD image shows higher AOD values over the Midwest (below right).

MODIS Terra true color image shows an area covered by haze/smoke (below) over the Midwest. The MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program's large incident map reports the two fires in California, as well as fires in Oregon, Montana, and Florida here.



PM2.5 levels (bottom left, courtesy of AIRNow) over area in the Midwest where NOAA's Hazard Mapping System (HMS) reported smoke were primarily Code Yellow (Moderate). Code Green (Good) PM2.5 levels (top left, courtesy of AIRNow) dominated much of the rest of the United States. Ozone levels (bottom right, courtesy of AIRNow) were reported to be Code Yellow and Code Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) levels in much of CA. The rest of the U.S was Code Green throughout the day with small exceptions in AZ, OR, MO, SD, and WY.


Posted by Jaime Compton at September 11, 2009 11:34 AM