Winds of change for air quality in Northern California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Winds will help and hurt the air quality conditions in Northern California the rest of the week.

Wednesday morning's air quality was much improved for most of Northern California. Breezy onshore wind from the previous day mixed with the layers of smoke to disperse the particles and reduce the concentration of the poor air.

Most regions are reporting "Moderate" air quality, as indicated by the yellow contours from the Spare the Air regional air quality map. 

Visibility has improved, as well, for most locations.

The origin of the onshore wind, the Pacific Ocean, will add more moisture to the air, and slow the growth of the numerous fires in the Coastal region.

The wind has not been entirely beneficial for some regions though. The fires burning in the Plumas National Forest do not directly benefit from the onshore lower elevation wind and those fires saw significant growth and new smoke to an already saturated area. We expect the Northern Sierra to continue to see fire growth and smoky conditions.

Wednesday afternoon will see an increase in wind and more fire growth and pluming of the column of smoke, mostly to the North and Northeast direction. Most of the smoke will settle north of Sacramento and the Sierra.

We expect more containment of the ongoing fires, and less new smoke.

We are expecting a warm up by the end of the week with temperatures near 100 degrees, and more dry conditions moving in. More changes to the fire and smoke forecast are likely to come.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT AIR QUALITY: 

• Sacramento Local Forecast
• First the coronavirus pandemic and now wildfire smoke: A look at farmworkers’ health
• What you can do to reduce exposure to wildfire smoke indoors

Watch more:

California Wildfires: Ash falling from the sky, air quality, and tropical systems in Gulf of Mexico