LOCAL ALERT WEATHER DAY: Today and Wednesday for “Poor Air Quality”
Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – The Local Alert Weather Team has issued a Local Alert Weather Day for Today and Wednesday due to the dangerous air quality issues impacting Central Oregon.
The wildfires have been generating significant smoke today with several locations spiking in the very unhealthy range. Bend is generally in the very unhealthy range as of noon today, but some parts of the city are in the hazardous range.
Prineville, Sisters and Redmond are also similar to Bend with areas in the Unhealthy to Hazardous range.
Stay indoors if you can, if you do go outside, wear a mask and limit strenuous activities.
The Awaka, Brewer and Box Springs fires impacting Deschutes and Crook County while the Coyote and Henry fires are impacting Crook County.
Check on your neighbors during this smoky period, especially the elderly and those with respiratory issues.
Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties are under an Air Quality Alert until further notice due to the wildfires.
This shows no signs of letting up so the Local Alert Day will continue into Wednesday.
The forecast will be a tricky one as there are some showers and storms are expected Wednesday. There may be a few isolated storms Tuesday afternoon, but the main event will be tomorrow in the late afternoon.
Temperatures are the tricky part due to the timing of the storms. If the storms arrive late in the day, we should get into the 90s, but if they arrive earlier, it will not allow us past the middle 80s.
The showers and storms slated for Wednesday will be able to generate gusty wind (outflow winds near the leading edge of the storms) as well as the lightning and brief heavy rain. The wind and lightning are not good news for firefighters.
Once the storms exit the region late Wednesday night, we are likely to stay dry and hot into the weekend.
The smoke and poor air quality should remain through the weekend as well.
There are several fires generating the smoke, so the combination of all the fires will continue to impact our air quality. Stay inside, check on your neighbors and wear a mask if you do have to go outside.
Please, Stay safe and smart.
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