Two weeks ago, Canadian wildfires placed the entire state of Ohio under an air quality advisory.
Now more wildfires are burning, but primarily in Oregon and Washington. They’ve burned over 1.3 million acres, according to AccuWeather. The fires have caused air quality there to reach “very unhealthy” or hazardous air quality, according to AirNow.gov.
Will the wildfires effect Ohio? Here’s what to know:
Will Ohio see any effects?
According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the state should be safe from the smoke.
“Right now, air quality impacts are limited to the northwestern states – and Ohio’s air quality is unaffected by the smoke,” Ohio EPA spokesperson Bryant Somerville said in an emailed statement.
“Wildfire smoke forecasting models do not indicate smoke reaching the Midwest at levels that would have an impact on Ohio’s air quality; however, over the next 48 hours, some light smoke could be carried by upper-level winds (that do not reach the ground or impact air quality) and cause some hazy skies in Ohio.”
Meteorologist Doug Kahn of the National Weather Service office in Cleveland agreed.
“There is some upper air smoke this morning but not too bad but it could result in some hazy skies, but it clears out this afternoon,” Kahn said.
Any hazardous weather coming this way?
The weather service forecast a slight risk of excessive rainfall for northern Ohio that could lead to more hazardous issues.
The weather service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for a slow-moving, low-pressure system this weekend into Monday. Rain coming the night of Aug. 1 and extending into Aug. 2 could produce “localized flooding, where storms align.”
The rainfall could affect Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie, Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Hancock, Seneca, Huron, Medina, Summit, Portage, Trumbull, Wyandot, Crawford, Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Stark, Mahoning, Marion, Morrow, Holmes and Knox counties.
Reach Aaron at 330-580-8428 or ahhughes@usatodayco.com. On X: @AaronHughe2
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Will wildfires in Pacific Northwest impact Ohio? What to know
Reporting by Aaron Hughes, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Aaron Hughes, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
