Forecaster: James Miller, USDA Forest Service
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The Air Quality Index at 8 a.m. on Monday,
Aug.20, 2018. See the map above for
current conditions.
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- Smoky conditions have
returned to Northern Oregon, including at the coast, in the Willamette
Valley from Portland to Eugene, and throughout Northeastern Oregon.
- Air quality in Northern
Oregon is expected to worsen throughout the day Monday and into Tuesday as
north to northeast flow brings in smoke from fires in British Columbia and
Washington.
- Conditions in the northern
part of the state will begin to improve Wednesday as a short-wave trough
approaches the coast bringing a marine push and westerly winds aloft.
- There was a slight
improvement to air quality in Southern Oregon Sunday night into Monday
morning due to easterly winds moving the smoke out to the Pacific Ocean.
- Southern Oregon air quality
will deteriorate throughout the day Monday into Tuesday due to smoke from
local wildfires and those to the north impacting the region.
- In summary, there will be
widespread and major air quality impacts across the entire state of Oregon
for the next 48 hours.
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View west from the Columbia Gorge IMPROVE
air quality monitor near Wishram, WA at 10:45 a.m. on Monday, August 20, 2018.
Current images are available at: https://www.fsvisimages.com/fstemplate.aspx?site=CORI1
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View south from the Mount Hood IMPROVE air
quality monitor near Government Camp, OR at 10:45 a.m. on Monday, August 20,
2018. Current images are available at: https://www.fsvisimages.com/fstemplate.aspx?site=MOHO2
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As winds shift to northerly to
northeasterly across the state, smoke from fires burning to our north in British
Columbia and Washington will lead to rapidly declining air quality for most of
the state of Oregon on Monday into Tuesday.
The introduction of smoke from fires to the
north will produce unhealthy for sensitive groups or unhealthy air quality
levels throughout Northern Oregon, including the Willamette Valley where air
quality alerts have been issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality through noon on Wednesday. Unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality
levels should also be expected in Northeastern, Central, and Southern Oregon on
Monday and Tuesday with localized hazardous air quality indices possible.
Air quality should begin to improve in
Northern Oregon by Wednesday morning as marine air moves into the region in
association with a shortwave trough approaching the coast. Until that time,
residents and visitors to the state of Oregon region should limit outdoor
activities and stay tuned to the latest forecasts for updates.
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Near-surface smoke forecast from
the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) Model for Monday, August 20, 2018 at 4
p.m. (top) and Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018 at 4 p.m. (bottom).
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