Good to Moderate air quality expected today

Over North Idaho, light smoke and haze will linger through the day with limited clearing this afternoon before more light to patchy smoke and haze moves in from Washington and British Columbia and remains overnight. Central Idaho will see light smoke and haze drift in from Montana this afternoon and linger overnight. Light smoke and haze are entering the Snake River Plain through East Idaho this morning from the East Central Mountains and Montana. The easterly afternoon winds will nudge the light smoke and haze towards the Treasure Valley. Light smoke and haze will linger over South Idaho overnight. As temperatures decrease tonight, lingering smoke and haze across Idaho will become trapped under surface temperature inversions and settle in valleys and low-lying areas which will raise local AQI levels until the inversions break later in the morning. With warmer and drier conditions forecasted for the future, look for smoke production to possibly increase towards the end of the week. The highest AQI levels will be seen around those fires localized to the Central Mountains and North Idaho. Those areas could experience brief periods of UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS. All other areas of the state should be GOOD to MODERATE.

NOAA GOES-West GeoColor (true color) visible satellite image captured at 15:01 UTC (9:01 a.m. MDT) on 17 September 2025 shows a few areas of fog and low clouds in the Clearwater Basin and North Idaho with light smoke and haze seen over the Idaho Panhandle, the Clearwater Basin, and the Snake River Plain.

Better air quality continues

Much like yesterday, today's air quality is forecast to be GOOD to MODERATE aside from areas near fires in North Idaho and the Central Mountains where you could experience brief periods of UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS.

Over North Idaho, light smoke and haze will linger through the day with limited clearing this afternoon before more light to patchy smoke and haze moves in from Montana and British Columbia and remains overnight. Central Idaho will see light smoke and haze drift in from Montana this afternoon and linger overnight. Light smoke and haze over southwestern Idaho will clear this afternoon. Light smoke and haze will drift southward out of the East Central Mountains and Montana this afternoon into East Idaho and slowly drift across the Snake River Plain this evening and linger overnight. As temperatures decrease tonight, lingering smoke and haze across Idaho will become trapped under surface temperature inversions and settle in valleys and low-lying areas which will raise local AQI levels until the inversions break later in the morning. With warmer and drier conditions forecasted for the future, look for smoke production to possibly increase towards the end of the week.

NOAA GOES-West GeoColor (true color) visible satellite image captured at 15:31 UTC (9:31 a.m. MDT) on 16 September 2025 shows fog and low clouds over mountain valleys in Central and North Idaho with light smoke and haze over North Idaho and the Clearwater Basin.

Warmer weather coming

GOOD to MODERATE air quality for the majority of the state today. The highest AQI levels will be seen around those fires localized to the Central Mountains and North Idaho. Those areas could experience brief periods of UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS.

Over North Idaho, light smoke and haze will linger through the day with limited clearing this afternoon before more light to patchy smoke and haze moves in from Washington and British Columbia and remains overnight. Central Idaho will see light smoke and haze drift south from North Idaho this afternoon and linger overnight. Light smoke and haze over East Idaho will clear this afternoon. Light smoke and haze will drift southward out of the Central Mountains this evening across South Idaho and linger overnight. As temperatures decrease tonight, lingering smoke and haze across Idaho will become trapped under surface temperature inversions and settle in valleys and low-lying areas which will raise local AQI levels until the inversions break later in the morning. With warmer and drier conditions forecasted for the future, look for smoke production to possibly increase towards the end of the week.

NOAA GOES-West GeoColor (true color) visible satellite image captured at 15:21 UTC (9:21 a.m. MDT) on 15 September 2025 shows extensive cloud cover over Central and North Idaho. Smoke is visible in Central California.

More moisture expected today

GOOD to MODERATE air quality expected for most of Idaho today. If you're near fires in the Central Mountains or North Idaho, you may experience brief periods of UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS.

Most areas of the state will see limited clearing of light smoke and haze this afternoon before returning this evening. As temperatures decrease tonight, lingering smoke and haze across Idaho will become trapped under surface temperature inversions and settle in valleys and low-lying areas which will raise local AQI levels until the inversions break tomorrow morning.

NOAA GOES-West GeoColor (true color) visible satellite image captured at 15:16 UTC (9:16 a.m. MDT) on 12 September 2025 shows light smoke and haze visible at the surface over North Idaho. Thick smoke is visible emanating from fires in Washington. Clouds are seen over the Central Mountains, Clearwater Basin, and the Treasure Valley.

More showers but good air so get outside when you can!

Air quality is forecast to be GOOD to MODERATE across the state. Areas near local fires in North Idaho and the Central Idaho mountains could see UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS. 

Light to smoky haze with limited afternoon clearing across the state. And as always, any smoke and haze lingering in the area as temperatures decrease tonight will become trapped under overnight inversions in valleys and low-lying areas, raising AQI values before inversions break tomorrow tomorrow.

NOAA GOES-West GeoColor (true color) visible satellite image captured at 15:21 UTC (9:21 a.m. MDT) on 11 September 2025 shows precipitation producing clouds across portions of Idaho with light smoke and haze visible at the surface over North Idaho. Thick smoke is visible emanating from fires in Washington.