Prepare for another summer of smoke in Minnesota, air quality forecasters say

Air quality forecasters say Minnesotans need to prepare for another summer of smoke.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and their outlook for this year, smoky skies just may be our new normal.

"We have been trending in the wrong direction. Will it continue? It just depends on what happens in Canada. It depends on how many wildfires they get, how close are those wildfires to Minnesota," said MPCA Meteorologist Ryan Lueck.

This summer, they are predicting between 12 and 16 smoky days with alerts. 

"In comparison to 2023, 2025, 2021 where you're up in the range of 40, that's not as bad. But it's still active and it's still more than what we've seen historically looking a little bit further back in time," Lueck said.

Canada can't take total blame. It's also the dry conditions here at home with drought across northern and southwestern Minnesota.

"That's going to promote, through the spring, more fire weather conditions," Lueck said. "So if you do get a fire that starts, it's going to be able to spread more quickly, it's going be able to grow bigger and basically the more fuels that you consume in a fire, the more smoke that it's gonna output."

Forecasters are also anticipating four to six ozone action days. That's more than the average of two to four alerts in a season and a perfect reason to regularly check the MPCA's air quality forecast.

"Being aware of what's out there is the first step. Because then you can take steps to try to protect your health by reducing your exposure to those pollutants," Lueck said.