At 3:49 a.m., this alert about Canadian wildfires (news account) received verbatim:
THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED A SPECIAL AIR QUALITY NOTICE FOR PARTS OF WISCONSIN. THE WILDFIRE SMOKE THAT HAS BEEN OVER WISCONSIN FOR SEVERAL DAYS IS NOW BEING BROUGHT DOWN TO THE SURFACE. A COLD FRONT HAS PASSED THROUGH THE STATE DURING THE LATE NIGHT HOURS OF MONDAY INTO TUESDAY MORNING. TYPICALLY...THE AIR BEHIND A COLD FRONT IS DESCENDING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE.THIS DESCENDING MOTION IS WHAT IS BRINGING THE WILDFIRE SMOKE TO GROUND LEVEL. THE PM2.5 AIR QUALITY HAS REACHED THE UNHEALTHY LEVEL FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS (ORANGE CATEGORY) AT SEVERAL MONITORING SITES ACROSS NORTHERN AND WEST-CENTRAL WISCONSIN. THE SENSITIVE GROUPS CATEGORY INCLUDES CHILDREN...ELDERLY PEOPLE...INDIVIDUALS WITH RESPIRATORY AND CARDIAC PROBLEMS...OR ANYONE ENGAGED IN STRENUOUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME. THE WIDTH AND DENSITY OF THE SMOKE PLUME WILL VARY AT ANY GIVEN LOCATION. THE FORECAST IS FOR THE SMOKE TO MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE THIS MORNING.
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This is GREAT news. Now I can hang my homemade jerky, summer sausage & and brats out on the front porch to smoke 'em instead of going through the hassle of firing up the smokehouse.
ReplyDeleteLet's all hope we get many many more of these warnings this summer!