We are presently experiencing a PM 2.5 air pollution
episode in the central area of the Eastern United States.
It started early in the morning of Friday and has apparently
deepened earlier today. In many areas south of a front that was
stationary yesterday and today portions of which are a warm
front heading north, nearly all PM 2.5 monitoring stations are
at Code Yellow and several at into Code Orange -- unhealthy
for sensitive groups as of Saturday, 3 PM
The rough spatial extent of the solid Code Yellow area in the last 36
hours has extended in an area from SoutheasternWisconsin to
Eastern Pennsylvania, down through Virginia, wester South
and North Carolina through Northern Geogia to Northern
Mississippi and back north through Eastern Missouri into
Illinois.
In the last 36 hours, Code Orange conditions have occurred during
some running 24 hour averaging times
in WI, IL, IN, OH, NC, TN, KY, PA, VA and AL.
As of 3 PM, WI, IN, OH, KY and TN are all showing
1 or more monitoring stations at Code Orange -- unhealthy
for sensitive groups. A single site is showing Code Red - Unhealthy
in Rhode Island, although the isolated nature of this indication may
indicate station malfunction.
All of this Eastern US activity is in addition to PM 2.5 problems from
forest fires in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.
3 PM airport visibility is also showing an extensive area of
visibility degradation in KY, OH, IN, MI and WI.
Here are URLs for information on PM 2.5
Current PM 2.5:
http://www.airnow.gov/...
Today's hourly indication movie:
http://www.airnow.gov/...
Friday's hourly PM 2.5 movie:
http://www.airnow.gov/...
Current US Airport Visibility
http://www.wunderground.com/...
Current US depiction of weather air mass fronts:
http://www.wunderground.com/
Information on morbidity and mortality effects of PM 2.5 air pollution:
http://www.airnow.gov/...
http://www.epa.gov/...
http://www.lungusa.org/...
http://www.lungusa.org/...
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Alex J. Sagady & Associates http://www.sagady.com
Environmental Enforcement, Permit/Technical Review, Public Policy,
Expert Witness Review and Litigation Investigation on Air, Water and
Waste/Community Environmental and Resource Protection