Fog, poor air quality are possible in these Whatcom areas through mid-week
Several days of fair weather are headed for Whatcom County, but they could come with poor air quality and even some dense fog that could hide the sun and make driving difficult.
A stretch of sunny skies is expected for Bellingham and most of Western Washington through at least Wednesday, Jan. 26 — after two months of record rain, flooding, snow and bitter cold.
Daytime temperatures will be in the high 40s with lows in the mid-30s, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
But an inversion layer caused by high pressure that’s bringing the fair skies could mean also mean air pollution and fog, said meteorologist Mary Butwin.
“With these prolonged conditions, there is some concern regarding air stagnation. Due to minimal mixing, we will likely see air quality decrease, especially for valleys that frequently experience temperature inversions, as well as large population centers,” Butwin said in the online forecast discussion.
Because of the forecast, a Stage 1 burn ban will continue indefinitely in the Columbia Valley near Kendall, said Seth Preston, spokesman for the Northwest Clean Air Agency.
Air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups around Maple Falls Saturday, Jan. 22, according to the Department of Ecology’s Air Monitoring Network.
All outdoor burning is prohibited, and only those whose sole heat source is a fireplace or woodstove can have a fire.
Others outside the burn ban area should reconsider fires while the inversion layer remains, Preston told The Bellingham Herald.
“If you don’t need to burn wood, just don’t do it. It’s going to put a whole lot of smoke in the air. Even a little bit of smoke is harmful to people and animals,” he said.
Depending on how thick the fog gets, it could make driving hazardous and rob some Whatcom County residents of an otherwise sunny day, said meteorologist Dustin Guy at the National Weather Service.
“How long it sticks (around) and how deep it gets is tough to say. The sun’s so weak this time of year that it’s tough to crack that inversion layer,” Guy told The Herald.
“It’s going to be a day-to-day situation.,” he said.
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
