When will the air quality in Minnesota improve: Timeline
MN weather: Thursday afternoon air quality update
Hazardous air quality continues across much of Minnesota on Thursday as wildfire smoke lingers over the state. FOX 9 meteorologist Keith Marler explains when conditions are expected to improve and how long the smoke could stick around.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Wildfires in northern Minnesota and Canada have brought a blanket of smoke to the state, making the air quality hazardous in most areas.
QUICK LINKS: Live updates on Minnesota wildfires, smoke | Minnesota weather forecast | Download the FOX LOCAL app to get alerts | List of cancellations & delays due to wildfire smoke
When will Minnesota air quality improve?
Timeline:
The thickest of the smoke is happening Thursday. But the wind will start to shift Thursday night into Friday morning, and will start to clear the smoke from the Twin Cities and the majority of the state.
The smoke will start to retreat to the north Thursday evening into Friday morning, with air quality improvements from the south to north as time goes on Friday.
An area of low pressure will move through the state Friday and will further improve air quality for the whole state except for northeastern Minnesota, where the wildfires are the heaviest.
A cold front Friday night could bring back some smoke, but generally it should clear by Saturday.
The current air quality alert is expected to expire at 11 a.m. Friday for most of the state.
MORE ON AIR QUALITY: Map: Current air quality from wildfire smoke in Minnesota
Poor air quality in northeastern Minnesota expected to continue
Local perspective:
The air quality alert is expected to continue in northeastern Minnesota through Friday and into the weekend.
The air quality index (AQI) will be in the maroon category, which is considered hazardous for all, for Hinckley, Two Harbors, Hibbing, Ely, Duluth and the Tribal Nations of Mille Lacs, Grand Portage and Fond du Lac.
The backstory:
Wildfires continue in northeastern Minnesota, and have burned around 55,000 acres so far.
Smoke from the wildfires spread south, triggering air quality alerts across much of Minnesota, including hazardous conditions in the Twin Cities Thursday. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness remains closed, evacuations continue in parts of northeastern Minnesota and firefighters remain focused on containing the blazes.
The Source: FOX 9 meteorologists and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.