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Air quality advisory issued for Sunday

Canadian wildfire smoke returns to the Great Lakes

FOX 17

By: Kevin Craig

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and last updated

An Air Quality Advisory has been issued by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy due to Canadian wildfire smoke that will impact the region Sunday through Monday morning. This is a statewide advisory and smoke may be visible from the surface to the upper levels of the atmosphere.

Anyone who is sensitive to air quality issues is encouraged to avoid strenuous outdoor activities. While we expect mostly sunny skies, there will likely be a milky, white, partly sunny haze due to the smoke. See the EGLE department discussion below.

"There is a lot going on air quality-wise across the Great Lakes region, and the big story this forecast period is wildfire plumes dropping in from Canada. As the front Saturday moves through, smoke plumes will settle into the region. Smoke models have a good handle on this, and increases in fine particulate concentrations are being seen Saturday morning to our west in northwest Wisconsin. Current models show the smoke plume reaching the western portion of the Upper Peninsula Saturday afternoon. The plume then moves east and south across the rest of the Upper Peninsula and into Lower Michigan from late Saturday into Sunday.

As this happens, increased fine particulate concentrations will be seen. Based on current models and trends, we anticipate a range of concentrations across the state, with the highest readings being seen in northern locations. The expected range of fine particulate through Monday is Very Unhealthy to Unhealthy across the Upper Peninsula into northern Lower Michigan; Unhealthy to USG in central areas; and USG to Moderate in southern locations. This is something we are tracking, and this forecast will be updated Sunday morning to highlight the most recent model trends and to determine if the alert will need to be extended past noon on Monday.

Fine particulate is the dominant pollutant into Monday; however, a warm southerly flow develops Monday into Tuesday, which may increase ozone levels. While it’s a bit too early to tell how high ozone conditions may reach, this will also be evaluated with the Sunday update."

Take a look at our forecast models below. They show smoke at the surface and in the upper levels. It appears the smoke will impact much of the atmosphere.