8/24/2015 Statewide look at Air Quality and Smoke for Monday and Tuesday

Smoke Impacts Predicted for Today (Monday 8/24/2015)

The map below is a prediction of the 24 hour average smoke impacts for Monday August 24, 2015. Areas in close proximity to fires are impacted the most including virtually all of north central to eastern Washington.  In the southern part of the state, the Cougar Creek fire near Mt. Adams is predicted to send smoke towards Yakima and the Tri Cities area. Winds are predicted to pick up later today and may improve air quality somewhat in the Columbia Basin and near the east slopes of the Cascades.

The map below is a modeled prediction of how bad smoke may get for one hour at some point during the day on Monday August 24, 2015.  Virtually all areas east of the Cascades will experience very smoky and impaired air quality for at least a short time today. It looks like your best option for less impaired air quality will be west of the Cascades which should not see much in the way of smoke impacts. Or on the east side, Leavenworth, Ellensburg, and Wenatchee may have less smoke than other parts of eastern Washington.

Smoke Impacts Predicted for Tomorrow (Tuesday 8/25/2015)

The map below is again a 24-hour average of predicted smoke impacts in Washington but this is for tomorrow (Tuesday). Unfortunately there is no sign of any improvement in the situation for eastern Washington yet and in fact air quality may be somewhat worse tomorrow in most areas compared to today as winds lessen.

The map below is the prediction of worst case 1 hour smoke levels for tomorrow, Tuesday.  Smoke levels look like they will be just as bad as or worse than today (Monday).  The west side of the Cascades will be spared but the only areas on the eastside that may experience lighter smoke levels look to be Leavenworth and Ellensburg. Dark red areas near the fires and in low lying areas where smoke can pool are predicted to reach very high levels of smoke at some point during the day tomorrow.

Important: Please note the predictions from the smoke model shown above are experimental and depend on the accuracy of various other models of meteorology, fire location, and fire size.