September 8, 2012
Weekend edition: Air Quality improves across the US; Still problems in Idaho
In general the air quality for ozone and PM is pretty good across the country. Two areas continue to be a problem, the smoke from the Idaho fires and the LA basin. The ozone concentrations in San Bernadino are reminiscent of the bad old days, pushing 120 ppb. There also is a brief period of moderate air quality in the Denver area later this afternoon due to ozone.
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The smoke in the Idaho region is remarkable today in the MODIS AQUA RGB image:
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Update: September 9, 2012 9:30 EDT
Sunday saw mostly acceptable air quality across the US. There are still areas of Idaho with highly elevated PM2.5 downwind of the fires. Ozone flared up to the moderate levels across Colorado and in the LA Basin. By afternoon, the plumes from fires in Oregon and Washington are adding to the Idaho emissions. It looks to be another week with western smoke affecting the nation's air quality.
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