Skyline Happenings

The following is from his website: Click here for more

If you want to escape smoke, go south of Olympia or head to the coast.

Now the bad news.  Today is the good day for air quality around Puget Sound.  The onshore flow will weaken today and daytime mixing will bring the smoke down to the surface.  Tomorrow (Sunday), the winds will be more northerly, which will lessen the inland movement of clean Pacific air and bring more smoke down from BC.

Global Warming 

There are a number of folks that are claiming that this smoky/warm period is a sign of global warming.   I believe that many of them are seriously stretching the facts and trying to simplify a complex situation.  I will blog about this issue during the coming week, but consider the following:

1.   Most forest management experts agree that the major issue is the past mismanagement of our forests.   This includes suppressing natural fires, leaving slash and dead material on the forest floors, changing the density of the east-side forests, and much more.   Some global warming activists are happy to ignore this.
2.  Wildfire is a natural part of healthy forests in our region.
3.  The replacement of natural grasses by fire-prone foreign species has greatly increased grass fires.

4.  Increasing human pressure and fire initiation (fireworks, campfires, arson) has enhanced fires.
5.  The meteorological situation of this event is not one of uniform warming, but localized warming during the last month due to anomalous high pressure over our region.  The weather has been COOLER THAN NORMAL over the the high plains.  There is NO reason to expect more high pressure in the future under global warming.

Human-induced global warming has warmed the region about 1F so far, which is MUCH less than the 15-20F temperature anomalies associated with this event.

More later.

“SEATTLE (KOMO) — A thick, smoky haze from wildfires burning in British Columbia continued to blow into Washington on Wednesday, giving the skies an orange-brown tint and degrading the air quality.

Air quality monitors with Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology show widespread readings in the “moderate” category across Western Washington, with some spots down into the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category in the Puget Sound region — and even the “unhealthy” category along the Olympic Peninsula and north coast. A reading near Port Angeles had a reading of 158 mid Thursday morning. “Good” air quality is considered under 50.”

Ed Note: If you have a respiratory condition such as asthma or COPD, best to stay indoors until the air quality improves.