Wow!
From ABC 6:
The FAA paused flights for approximately an hour Thursday morning from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio bound for Philadelphia International Airport due to low visibility.
By 9:40 a.m., the ground stop was lifted.
It must have been way thicker in Philadelphia than here–just a 40 minute drive away.
I would wear a mask when I went to a store during pandemic but Tues evening was the very first time I wore one outside! Those N95 masks really work I broke the seal to scratch my nose & instantly smelled the smoke
Last night’s walk was up & down every aisle in Target to avoid being outside. It was a second story store over a parking garage. Double doors on the first floor in the front right corner, then you’re inside to go up the stairs/escalator/elevator, When I got to the opposite corner end & turned around it looked hazy & when I walked back to the right side of the building there was a slight odor of smoke…through a parking garage, through double doors & then up the open space! BTW, did you know Target now sells sex toys?
Tonight’s run club has been officially cxl’d, not that I was planning on going anyway.
Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe
And to love you
All I need is the air that I breathe
Yes, to love you
All I need is the air that I breathe
phila is getting a bit more clear. we are at 270 now, and visibility is a bit better.
Jersey Bayshore dropped to 186. I did keep my N95 mask on while I was outside. The air is pretty nasty.
It looks like by tomorrow we should be down to light or less. Maybe light by 6pm today.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued a
Code Red Air Quality Action Day until midnight, then a Code Orange
Action Day for Friday.
It says air quality index is at 103, but it doesnt affect me when I go out.
As said in the other thread, there’s rain all over SE Canada right now, and for most of the next week.
Earlier Minnesota and Wisconsin had some air quality alerts, but it wasn’t as bad as the pictures I’m seeing of the east coast.
Brian
Two thoughts:
AIUI the quoted numbers are Pm2.5. Which is only one component of the smoke. It’s the one with the most immediate health impacts, but not necessarily the one that matters most for your subjective experience of breathing and seeing.
As well, the vision obscuring qualities of particulates are not linear. Twice as much stuff produces more than twice as much obscuration. Or in this case, a 1/3rd reduction in from ~360 to ~240 brings a bunch more than 1/3rd improvement in visibility.
Humidity matters too. The famous term “smog” is a portmanteau of smoke + fog. The presence of smoke (or dust or car exhaust) particulates helps convert invisible water vapor into aggregated lumps of visible cloud.
I live in Texas (Dallas), and we can’t smell or see anything here, but apparently the air quality measurements are picking up particulates from the Quebec fires.
But it’s not at all uncommon for seasonal burning in Mexico and Central America to affect our air quality in the spring. The Gulf Coast gets it a bit worse than we do though- I think in late April/early May it was affecting the Houston area this year. 1998 was particularly bad, as was 2006.
We also occasionally get huge Saharan dust clouds in the summer that mess up our air quality as well.
This morning I could not see the US Capitol dome from the Potomac. Right now AQ 261 and yes it smells smoky and not the good kind of smoky, around here. Very brief exposure door-car-door got me irritated airways.
Suburban Maryland. Sky is like an overcast day, with a slightly smoky hue. Smells like a really old campfire.
It rained!! – though, unfortunately, only for about five minutes, with a bit of drip before and after.
AirNow says we’re down to 152; though I’m not sure that wasn’t right before the bit of rain.
I’ve referenced that song myself this spring, with the clear and sweet air we have now.
We had our share of the Canada smoke briefly, and a lot of it last summer.
I don’t take it for granted, now.
UPS just delivered a package to our house. It shipped from eastern Pennsylvania and it smelled of smoke. The driver said he noticed it as well.
We live half way between Toronto and Detroit. Great Lakes on all sides. We have been remarkably fortunate as the smoke is being driven south just east of us, across the lakes.
My husband golfed today, and now it’s raining.
Fortunate indeed.
AQ where I sit has gone down to 180 according to AirNow.
AQ here was purple this morning. My nose started bleeding not long after I got to work. It’s 159 now, and if it goes into the orange before nightfall I may venture out for a short run. I read it’s supposed to get worse again early tomorrow.
Roughly the same location and description where I am.
We went down 200 points to 169. Things are much clearer and the smell of smoke is negligible.