Smoke is getting cozy here. It blanketed us and plans to stay

Air quality degraded much faster than expected yesterday as the BC wildfire smoke blanketed the state. Here's a progression of satellite pictures taken last afternoon, evening and this morning. Only the high peaks of the Olympics and Cascades are able to stay above the smoke layer.

And a great timelapse from Greg Johnson, looking north from the Kitsap peninsula:

 

Air quality in Washington is among the worst in the country- hardly any communities with Good air. Not good!

So when will things clear out? Short answer: not fast enough.

A strong high pressure system is anchored over the state and is expected to remain well into next week. This will give us warm temperatures, abundant (smoke- filtered) sunshine, north/northeast winds in western WA, and north/ east winds in eastern WA. Crucially, no substantial west/ southwest winds on the horizon to flush out smoke.

So sadly statewide air quality is expected to vary between Moderate to Unhealthy at different times for the next several days. Instances of Very Unhealthy air cannot be ruled out. Slight improvements can be expected during the daytime, poor air at night.

As always please pay attention to the health warnings and precautions listed on our blog page.