Smoke and haze abound but AQ mostly staying in the Good to Moderate range

Today’s air quality is forecast to be Good to Moderate across Idaho.

Patchy smoke and haze across South Idaho and the Central Mountains is slowly flowing north to west from the Central Mountains and the Treasure Valley into North Idaho and northeastern Oregon. Limited dispersion of near surface smoke is expected this afternoon. Later this evening, the winds will shift from a more northerly direction and nudge the smoke and haze southward where it will linger in the Central Mountains, Treasure Valley, Magic Valley, and the southern portions of North Idaho. The Bench Lake Fire south of Stanley is adding to this smoke and haze across portions of South Idaho. Highest AQI levels will be seen around the Texas Fire northeast of Kendrick and the Bench Lake Fire.

The RAP-NCEP Near Surface Smoke initialized 8am MDT July 18, 2024 shows patchy smoke and haze over portions of the Central Mountains and North Idaho. Light smoke and haze are seen over South Idaho. Patchy smoke and haze will continue to drift north and west from the Central Mountains and Treasure Valley into North Idaho and northeastern Oregon this afternoon.