Way more smoke in the Methow Valley. Not much change over the weekend

The Diamond Creek fire north of Mazama appears to have been annoyed by something: it puffed up way more smoke last night than it did in the past few days.

While smoke drained into the Methow as expected, the amount of smoke was an unpleasant surprise. Air quality in Winthrop has been Unhealthy since midnight and Twisp quickly caught up when the morning inversion broke. Expect some gradual improvement during the day, but not hopeful it will get any better than Moderate today.

A repeat of last night and this morning beckons on Friday and Saturday nights into the following morning, because winds will be terrain- driven each day. Slightly stronger winds on Sunday will help disperse the smoke, leading to Good to Moderate AQ in the Methow.