It's summertime (in the West) and the breathing ain't easy

Smoke impacts today are expected to be greatest over the Panhandle south to the Treasure Valley with elevated air quality readings over the remainder of the state today. Northeast winds offer a chance to clear some smoke out of northern Idaho, but likelihood of this actually occurring is low today due to the possibility of smoke coming into Idaho from Montana. Much of southern Idaho should expect to see smoke transported from the southwest. The western portion of southern Idaho will be hit harder than the eastern portion. Little improvement is expected in the west with only a slight improvement in the east. Per usual, any relief from the smoke in the afternoon will be short thanks to smoke settling back down to the surface in the evening. The Panhandle will be heavily impacted this evening with smoke settling within the Purcell Trench down into Spokane and south into central Idaho.

This image shows plenty of cloud cover with ample smoke over the entire state with higher opacity over northern and central Idaho where clouds are not present.

MODIS-Today: Visible Satellite imagery valid 08/20/2018.  Data Source: University of Wisconsin