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Statewide Smoke Forecast for Monday and Tuesday

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The Air Quality Index at 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018.  See the map above for current conditions.
Forecast Issued:  Aug. 13, 2018
Forecaster:  James Miller, USDA Forest Service
 
At 9 a.m. on Monday Aug. 13, 2018, good air quality prevailed over the majority of Oregon. While conditions improved over the weekend in Southern Oregon, wildfire air quality impacts still existed Monday morning in Southern Oregon with moderate air quality indices reported at Ashland, Klamath Falls, Lakeview and Medford.

Moving ahead into the rest of Monday, air quality and visibility will degrade throughout the state with high pressure off the North American coast moving smoke from Washington and British Columbia southward. By mid-afternoon on Monday, hazy conditions will exist along the entire Oregon coast, as well as the Portland metro area, and throughout Northeastern Oregon from The Dalles east to the Idaho border. However, air quality levels should remain in the good to moderate quality for most of the northern portion of the state as smoke from the north may remain mostly in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere. Nonetheless, haze will reduce visibility throughout Northern Oregon, with dramatic red-orange skies likely around sunset, a sight that’s become quite familiar for many Oregon residents and visitors this summer. In Southern Oregon, including Ashland, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls and Medford, air quality will likely degrade to unhealthy for sensitive groups or unhealthy levels with locally worse conditions possible southwest of Grants Pass in Cave Junction and Selma. For Monday afternoon, the best air quality and visibility in Oregon is expected in the central portion of the state from the southern Willamette Valley (e.g. Eugene) east to Bend, the John Day Valley and Baker City.
Near-surface smoke forecast from the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh Model for Monday, August 13, 2018 at 3 p.m. (above) and Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 12 p.m. (below).
On Tuesday, hazy conditions will exist throughout the entire state, with significant air quality impacts expected in the south where continued unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse air quality will likely continue. In the central and northern regions of the state, morning air quality may reach moderate or possibly unhealthy for sensitive groups levels if smoke from the upper-levels settles near the surface overnight.