Also, check out https://www.iqair.com/us/world-air-quality-ranking to see a live updating of the global cities with the worst AQI (air quality index).
When will the air quality improve in the Midwest, Northeast?
An improvement in air quality is expected for millions of residents from the Midwest to New England this weekend, but AccuWeather forecasters warn that some smoke from the ongoing Canadian wildfires could return as early as next week.
By Bill Deger, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jun 29, 2023 12:36 PM EDT | Updated Jun 30, 2023 10:59 AM EDT
After wildfire smoke blanketed skylines in the Midwest Tuesday, millions of people woke up Wednesday to hazy skies on the east coast.
Poor air quality as a result of smoke from the record-setting wildfires in Canada has been plaguing portions of the Midwest and Northeast this week, but according to AccuWeather forecasters, some relief is ahead over the early parts of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
A change in wind direction across different layers of the atmosphere will be responsible for the relief from the dangerously smoky air, but experts caution that the return of an air mass with higher humidity and thunderstorms will replace one hazard with several others.
As of Friday morning, air quality alerts from the National Weather Service were in effect across more than a dozen states from Iowa to Rhode Island. Plume Labs, an AccuWeather-owned air quality company, was reporting pollution from the smoke was in the ‘unhealthy’ to ‘very unhealthy’ range in cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
For parts of the Northeast, it may get worse before it gets better, with thicker smoke and poor air quality expected to arrive in portions of New England and the New York City tri-state area late this week, according to AccuWeather forecasters. While it may not be a repeat of the apocalyptic, orange-hued scenes of a few weeks ago, the air will still be unhealthy for most.
The concentration of smoke increased over the Midwest and Northeast in recent days due to a flow of air out of the north as a departing low pressure system was replaced by high pressure. While skies typically clear as pressure rises, the shift in wind direction provided the perfect opportunity for the wildfire smoke to be funneled south into the region.
That wind direction will shift again into the weekend as low pressure returns. Rather than coming from the north, the wind will become more westerly and even southerly, allowing the smoke to clear some and the plume to move out of the Great Lakes.
“A storm forecast to move eastward across the Midwest and into the Northeast this weekend may be enough to disperse some of the worst smoky conditions,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
That dispersion of smoke would be good news for those with outdoor plans over the weekend ahead of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. However, forecasters warn that it will not be like flipping a switch and going from polluted to clean air and a bright blue sky.
“Since the coverage of the smoke is so extensive and humidity levels are likely to climb, the air is unlikely to become pristine, and some haze will persist,” said Sosnowski.
Despite the prospects of some lingering haze over the weekend and early next week, air quality should markedly improve. AccuWeather forecasters expect the air quality index to settle in the code yellow or ‘moderate’ range for most areas, meaning the vast majority of the population would not have to limit time spent outdoors. However, pockets of smoke that settle into deeper valleys may take longer to disperse, keeping air quality in a more unhealthy range for a longer amount of time there.
Additionally, residents in the Midwest and Northeast will likely have to dodge some showers and thunderstorms from the pesky, slow-moving storm system. While any given day will not be a washout, when storms do roll through, they will produce downpours and dangerous lightning due to the expected abundant amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
As the summer goes on, the Eastern U.S. may not be done with the smoke or poor air quality yet.
“With the likelihood that forest fires will continue in southern Canada deep into the summer, occasional plumes of smoke can head south into the northern U.S.,” added Sosnowski. “The next opportunity for that could come as early as next week.”
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