Finally the humidity breaks, the rain ends, and those beautiful summer days are arriving Minnesota! Well, kind of. The shift in the weather pattern is bringing in another shift: smoke.
Canadian wildfire smoke is once again prompting a statewide Air Quality Alert with most of the state already in the "unhealthy" air quality category according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. It's also going to be an extended event.
WCCO-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says that alert extends all the way into Saturday afternoon.
"Now, the reason it's so long is because high pressure is moving into the area," Shaffer said on the WCCO Morning News. "That's gonna drag the winds in from the north. Then when the high is over us, the air will just be stagnant. Not until the high kicks off into Wisconsin that the winds will start to come from the south and that'll push that smoky air right back up into the Canadian region."
To begin with, Shaffer says northern third of Minnesota is getting the brunt of the smoke Wednesday.
"The northern third of the state is already just flat out unhealthy," he said. "Even for folks that don't have breathing issues, you might notice itchy eyes, scratchy throat, maybe you're sneezing more. That's because the particulate matter in the air is quite high from the smoke because you're closer to the source region up in Canada where those fires are going."
Minnesota Pollution Control Meteorologist Matt Taraldsen has noted that this alert ties the record for the longest duration Air Quality Alert in Minnesota. The only other time an alert was issued for this length was during the 2021 Greenwood fire in St. Louis County.
Most of the state is in the Red or "Unhealthy" air alert with a line south from Marshall, Mankato, and towards Rochester remaining in Orange or "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" category.
There are also air quality alerts in Wisconsin and Michigan. Northern Wisconsin is expected to be in the same situation as northern Minnesota, with the rest of that state and Michigan listed as unhealthy for sensitive groups.
AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL 5PM SATURDAY
* WHAT...The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an Air Quality Alert for fine particles pollution. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is expected to reach the Red or Unhealthy category.
* WHERE...West central, east central, central, south central, southeast, north central, northwest, southwest, and northeast Minnesota.
* WHEN...Now until 5 PM CDT Saturday.
* IMPACTS...Some members of the general public may experience health effects. Sensitive groups, such as people with lung disease (including asthma), heart disease, and children and older adults, may experience health effects.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Northerly winds will continue transporting waves of heavy surface smoke from wildfires across Manitoba and Saskatchewan into Minnesota. Smoke will move south across all of Minnesota and linger through Saturday afternoon. The smoke will be reinforced by an area of high pressure that will create light winds and limit the dispersion of smoke. Therefore the air quality alert has been expanded to include all of Minnesota and extended until Saturday afternoon when the air quality is forecasted to improve.