Smoke and haze to remain over the weekend

Today’s air quality is forecast to be in the Good to Moderate range with brief periods of Unhealthy for Sensitive Group near regional and local fires.

Currently, patchy smoke and haze are seen across portions of the Snake River Plains and the Central Mountains. Light smoke and haze are visible in North and East Idaho. Later this afternoon, the near surface smoke and haze will begin to thicken across most of the state before clearing takes place Saturday morning when surface temperature inversions break. Saturday afternoon, more patchy smoke and haze will move into the Idaho Panhandle from Washington. 

The calm conditions associated with the ridge will allow smoke and haze to remain over the state through the weekend. As temperatures decrease over night, lingering smoke can become trapped under surface temperature inversions and raise local AQI levels until inversions break in the late mornings, offering limited clearing.

HRRR-NCEP Near Surface Smoke initialized 12Z at 6am MDT August 2, 2024 shows patchy smoke and haze over South Idaho, East Idaho, and the Central Mountains. Smoke from the Park Fire will continue to drift north into Oregon and Idaho.