The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is issuing an air quality alert for the Twin Cities starting Friday at noon.
This time at least, it's not due to wildfires.
Experts say that the ground-level ozone is expected to be high, with sunny skies, warm temperatures, and low humidity.
All of that providing a favorable environment for two types of pollutants to react with sunlight in the air to produce ground-level ozone.
Air quality is expected to reach the orange AQI category in east central and central Minnesota, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
The alert runs until 9:00 p.m. on Friday, May 29. The affected area includes the Twin Cities metro area only.
The rest of Minnesota is under a moderate (yellow) AQI.
The MPCA does say that over the weekend, varying amounts of high and mid level clouds will spread over the state, with some scattered showers and thunderstorms possible in the southwestern and western MN.
There should be enough cloud cover to keep ozone at Yellow, but if cloud cover is less than forecast ozone has the potential to reach Orange both Saturday and Sunday.
The MPCA AQI forecast for Friday, May 29.
(Minnesota Pollution Control Agency)
