Poor air quality for eastern Colorado due to ozone & smoke
Skies across Colorado will be mostly sunny all day Wednesday. But, if you live on eastern Colorado that sunshine may be a little on the hazy side for the day.
Ozone levels will be rising with the heat returning. But, the haze has returned primarily from wildfire smoke pushing over the nations mid-section behind Tuesday's cold front.
As a result, we have an Air Quality Alert for the Denver metro area, northern I-25 communities including Boulder, Fort Collins and Greeley thru 4pm Wednesday afternoon primarily for ozone. The eastern plains from the Nebraska Panhandle down to Springfield have the alert primarily for the wildfire smoke pushing south from fires in Canada.
The air in these areas is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Respiratory symptoms possible in unusually sensitive individuals, possible aggravation of heart or lung disease in people with cardiopulmonary disease and older adults.
Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion.
The pipeline of smoke is thicker just east of Colorado over the Great Plains.
With our eastern plains right on the edge we have the thickest smoke right along the Kansas and Nebraska state lines.
The smoke should thin out away from Denver and the Front Range Wednesday night into Thursday.
Thursday morning it may surge back into the northeastern corner of the state.
That should start to clear during Thursday afternoon.
