Yes, Whatcom. That haze you’re seeing is wildfire smoke
Smoke from wildfires in Eastern Washington and British Columbia made for a hazy sunrise that could slightly affect air quality in Whatcom County amid a late summer heat wave that has Bellingham flirting with record high temperatures Wednesday, Aug. 31.
But air quality should remain good over the next several days, even though the hazy skies might linger.
A high of 84 degrees Tuesday, Aug. 30, fell short of the record of 85 set in 1987, according to readings at Bellingham International Airport.
“We’re shifting today’s air quality forecast to moderate for Whatcom County due to some slightly higher smoke readings in the Columbia Valley and Bellingham areas,” the agency tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
Some Whatcom County residents were reporting hazy skies to the east and south by midday Tuesday, and air quality readings had shifted to moderate near Kendall, according to the agency’s website.
Even so, Northwest Clean Air Agency spokesman Seth Preston told The Bellingham that air quality will remain good for Wednesday, and for the next several days.
“We’re shifting to good for (Wednesday),” Preston said.
Meanwhile, high temperatures from 80 to 85 degrees are expected through Friday in Bellingham, and lowland Whatcom County could be warmer.
Offshore winds were expected to continue for the rest of the week, dropping temperatures back to more seasonable levels, said Matthew Cullen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
But those winds off the Pacific could funnel smoke north from wildfires in Northern California and Oregon later this week, Cullen said.
“That will be higher-level haze,” he said. “Some of that haze will certainly be around at times through the remainder of the week.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
