More smoke at night, less in the afternoon. Rinse and repeat

Today’s air quality is forecast to be in the Good to Moderate range.

Once again, patchy smoke and haze across South Idaho and the Central Mountains is mainly lingering over the area with a slow movement to the south and east. Limited dispersion of near surface smoke is expected this afternoon. Later this evening, the winds will shift from a more northerly to easterly direction and nudge the smoke and haze southward where it will linger in the Central Mountains, Treasure Valley, Magic Valley, and the Clearwater Basin. A cycle of near surface smoke increasing in the evening through the morning before clearing takes place in the afternoon will continue for the next several days. Smoke from Central Washington and southern British Columbia will bring smoke to North Idaho while fires in western Montana could add to the lingering smoke over the Central Mountains and the Clearwater Basin. The highest AQI levles are expected near the Bench Lake and Texas fires, near Stanely and Kendrick respectively with brief periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups possible in other areas.

The RAP-NCEP Near Surface Smoke initialized at 8am MDT July 19, 2024 shows patchy smoke and haze over portions of the Central Mountains and South Idaho. Light smoke and haze are seen over the rest of Idaho. Inversions breaking and afternoon winds will aid in the mixing out of near surface smoke and haze across the state.