Air quality forecast, Thursday 17 July 2014

Washington Department of Ecology Air Quality Forecast, July 17 2014

 

In addition to several small fires, large wildfires burning close to Leavenworth, the Methow Valley and Ephrata are causing poor air quality. These fires run the risk of spreading today and tomorrow as strong winds pass through. A Red Flag Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service. Stronger winds also restrict plume rise, so more smoke will stay closer to the ground.

 

Temperatures will drop closer to normal by Friday and there is a small chance of some rain in the mountains on Saturday. Not enough to douse the fires though.

 

Winds will blow from west to east through the weekend causing wildfire smoke to drift across much of eastern Washington over the next few days. Areas close to the fires may continue to see air quality degrade to Unhealthy levels, while air in areas further away could vary between Good, Moderate and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups at different times between now and Monday.

 

Barring new fires, air quality in south central Washington and areas further west of the wildfires should continue to remain Good during this time. We do not expect major smoke intrusions from fires in Idaho, Oregon or British Columbia.

 

 

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Ranil Dhammapala, PhD.

Atmospheric Scientist

Washington State Department of Ecology

P.O Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600

Tel: 360-407-6807

Fax: 360-407-7534

Email: ranil.dhammapala@ecy.wa.gov

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