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Oregon State Smoke Forecast for Tuesday - Wednesday Aug. 29-30, 2017

Issued:  Aug. 28, 2017
Forecaster.  R. Graw, USDA Forest Service

Tuesday - Aug. 29, 2017

The thermal trough, which has brought the hot and dry weather and smoke from the Cascades into Western Oregon, will move east on Tuesday, allowing for westerly winds to return to much of the forecast area. This should bring some relief to the coastal areas. The Willamette Valley will continue to experience some light smoke, as shown in Figure 1. (Note, dark red indicates areas of heavier smoke, and pink indicates areas of light smoke). Smoke will push east from the fires continuing to affect the Rogue Valley, the Cascades, and communities along the eastern flanks of the Cascades. Smoke light smoke and haze will be noticeable in the eastern portions of the state, including the Columbia River Gorge.


Figure 1.  Model-predicted 24-hour average smoke concentrations for Tuesday Aug. 29, 2017


Wednesday - August 30, 2017

An upper level trough will approach the state on Wednesday, bringing stronger westerly winds. This will scour out any remaining smoke for much of the Coast, and the entire Willamette Valley, giving some much needed relief to Eugene. Smoke will continue to affect the Cascades and particularly communities on the east side of the Cascades in Central Oregon. Haze will also be noticeable over much of the central and eastern portion of the state.

As always, please refer to the Air Resource Advisors’ reports on this blog for more detailed smoke forecasts for areas near the fires. 


Figure 2.  Model-Predicted 24-hour average smoke concentrations for Wednesday Aug. 30, 2017