The Brief
- Smoke and heat continue Thursday, with an Air Quality Alert and Heat Advisory remaining in effect across western Washington.
- Air quality is expected to gradually improve as onshore winds return, bringing cleaner air into the weekend.
- A Fire Weather Watch begins Friday for central and eastern Washington as gusty winds and dry conditions increase wildfire danger.
SEATTLE – Smoky skies continue into Thursday with an Air Quality Alert in effect through Thursday 5 p.m. East of the cascades will remain under the alert until further notice due to very poor quality and continuing wildfires.
Air quality improving
Smoke will continue to make the air quality unhealthy for some communities today. However, as onshore flow gradually picks up Thursday evening, better air quality is forecast into the weekend.
Smoke will continue to be unhealthy, but it will be an improvement compared to Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday will continue to be hot with highs in the mid to upper 80s to low 90s for Western Washington. The Heat Advisory remains in effect for Western Washington. It will be even warmer for Central Washington with highs near 100 and very poor air quality. The coast will be a few degrees cooler thanks to increased onshore flow.
Fire Weather Watch
A Fire Weather Watch will go into effect Friday morning through Saturday evening due to gusty and low relative conditions. As we see a change in the weather pattern, onshore flow will help the west side with smoke, but it will make for gusty conditions east of the mountains. Fire risk potential will increase and create increased fire danger.
Very dry air and low relative humidity will increase the risk of wildfire spread, especially with gusty winds. (FOX 13 Seattle)
Looking Ahead:…