When Will Minnesota’s Super Smoky Air Clear Up?

Tuesday got off to a particularly smoky start, with large portions of Minnesota seeing air quality in the worst categories on the air quality index scale in the morning hours.

As of midday Tuesday, about half of Minnesota is still seeing unhealthy air quality levels, including some of the state's most populous areas like Duluth, the Twin Cities, and Rochester.

The smoke that's been impacting Minnesota in the last week or so is coming from wildfires in Canada, with weather conditions blowing the smoke across the border. Today's blast of particularly smoky air was brought in by the same cold front that sparked up Monday's rain and thunderstorms.

Thankfully, some days have been better than others when it comes to air quality across Minnesota. After Tuesday's particularly poor conditions, when will our next break from the smoke be?

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When will Minnesota get a break from the wildfire smoke?

According to forecast information from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the state will see some improvements over the next few days.

Today looks like it will be the worst day of this week, with Wednesday (June 4) seeing improvement to "moderate" air quality across most of Minnesota through the day. The exception is Northeastern Minnesota, with the next-worst category, "unhealthy for sensitive groups" air quality in the orange counties, including places like Duluth, the Iron Range, and the North Shore.

Thursday's outlook from the MPCA sees most of the state return to "good" air quality, with the far northern counties of Minnesota still seeing "moderate" air quality from lingering smoke near the international border.

The reprieve will be welcome, but it is likely we'll see another return of smoke as wildfires continue to burn in Canada.