Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Chalk up another smoky sky day across Minnesota Friday. 

The usually blue October sky above Minnesota is tinted white again. The smoke plume is emanating from wildfires in Wyoming, Colorado and California. You can see the smoky smudges drifting eastward on Friday GOES-16 visible satellite loop from the Rockies into the Upper Midwest.

Friday’s wildfire smoke map generated from U.S. Forest Service data shows thicker smoke plumes covering parts of the Upper Midwest. You can see the individual wildfire sources out west.

The smoke over Minnesota Friday is thick enough to reflect some of the inbound solar radiation that would otherwise be used to heat the ground. The low October sun angle also makes this effect stronger than it would in mid-summer. 

The result is that temperatures are likely several degrees cooler than forecast than they would be under a clear blue sky Friday.

Some of the smoke may be reaching ground level in southern Minnesota. Friday’s air quality report from the MPCA shows air quality reading into the moderate (51-100 ppm) range in the Twin Cities (60 ppm) and southern Minnesota. Marshall’s reading of 97 ppm is close to the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category.

Air quality is expected to improve this weekend as frontal systems pass through Minnesota. Here are the latest air quality 

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Smoke form western wildfires thicker across Minnesota Friday.

Wax paper sky: Wildfire smoke blots out sun and blue sky again

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