OK, so the wildfire smoke didn’t entirely go away
Aug 24, 2018, 6:42 AM | Updated: 8:29 am
Layered treelines are seen through smoke-filled air, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, at Snoqualmie Pass in Washington state. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The air certainly seems a lot better around Puget Sound that it was over the past week, but there’s still a hint of wildfire smoke in the air.
Turns out, the recent push of wind made thing better, but didn’t entirely get rid of the problem. And that problem is still on the horizon. Maybe keep a box of those N95 face masks around, just in case.
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“It’s better, I just don’t think it’s fair to say the smoke is gone because we are going to keep getting it from different directions,” said KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard. “I don’t think you will have time period where it is completely good everywhere until we get some stronger storm systems moving through and the fires calm down.”
Wildfire smoke here and over there
Allard explains that after Thursday’s relief from unhealthy wildfire smoke, a fire on Vancouver Island pushed more smoke into the region. That haze could linger into the Everett and even the Seattle area Friday. But that’s not the only problem.
“If you have northwest wind, you are probably going to get a little smoke from Vancouver Island, we’ll probably get a little bit of that today,” Allard said. “If you happen to have east wind, you are going to get some smoke from east of the Cascades. If you have some north wind, you are going to get some smoke from Canada. So basically, until we get a bunch of rain, the chance of smoke is going to be there, off and on, every day.”
So which wind direction should you be hoping for?
“I would say southerly,” he said. “Yeah, but then here’s the problem: If you go upper level southerly, you get a ton of smoke from California.”
Let it rain
Low clouds moved into the region Friday. They brought some moisture and drizzle and that will help with the haze. Even better, Allard says that showers could arrive on Saturday and Sunday.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be better than it was,”Allard said. “Air quality is in the good to moderate range. You have some spots where it is unhealthy for sensitive groups, but very few. Compared to what it was, it’s dramatically better. But until we get some rain coming in, you are going to have to deal with some smoke.”
“But then Monday and Tuesday with more north wind kicking in, it will be clear but smoky again,” he said.
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