U.S. Air Quality

Elevated AOD over Central Plains as Pacific NW smoke layer traverses southeast

Fires emanating copious amounts of smoke over the Pacific Northwest continue to exacerbate air quality conditions, creating Code Purple (Very Unhealthy) and Code Red (Unhealthy) conditions across southwest Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon (top left, courtesy AIRNow). Today's MODIS RGB image superimposed with AOD indicates significantly raised AOD over the aforementioned region of high smoke (top right).

Elsewhere,scattered Code Yellow (Moderate) AQI levels were reached across the southern Plain and Southeast States (top left). The HMS analysis team reports several fires and smoke across these regions (middle left) and the afternoon MODIS overpass also indicates elevated AOD (middle right). As Daniel mentioned in yesterday's post, some of the smoke reported by the HMS is likely trailing behind a low pressure system and associated cold front over the central Mississippi Valley. The Storm Prediction Center's (SPC) evening mid-level atmospheric analysis paints a similar picture, illustrating moderate northwest flow from the Pacific Northwest towards the Central Plains (bottom left).