Breathe Easy? Not This Summer—Smoke And Haze Could Choke Minnesota Again
Just as the nice, warmer spring weather is finally here, don't look now but unhealthy, hazy skies could once again choke Minnesota this summer too.
As all Minnesotans know, once Mother Nature finally turns the page from winter to spring, it's high time to get and enjoy the great outdoors. After being cooped up for several months, having a beverage or dinner outdoors on the patio at your favorite restaurant or your deck at home is something many of us here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes enjoy, right?
But while the weather has been cooperating so far this spring, here's a warning from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MCPA) about the air quality in Minnesota, and how it could throw a wrench into your outdoor plans this summer.
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While last year wasn't as bad, the summer of 2023 was a record-setting season for poor air quality in Minnesota. That season, the MPCA says it issued a record-breaking 22 air quality alerts, covering 52 days, breaking the previous record set in 2021, which had 13 alerts over 42 days.
Many of those alerts in 2023 were attributed to smoke from Canadian wildfires, which the MPCA said, combined with specific weather patterns, led to prolonged periods of poor air quality across much of Minnesota.
The good news is that the skies here in the Bold North likely won't look quite that smoky this summer, however, the MPCA is still out with a forecast that includes the possibility of between 16 to 23 air quality alerts.
Specifically, the MPCA says:
- Forecast models predict four to seven days this summer when ozone levels may be unhealthy for sensitive groups.
- Between 12 and 16 days of wildfire smoke impacts are expected in Minnesota this summer.
The MPCA says the ozone alert outlook of four to seven days is slightly above Minnesota’s historical average, and is especially important for the Twin Cities suburbs and parts of southeastern Minnesota near Rochester, which could be most affected.
Meanwhile, 'drought-stressed vegetation across the region and elevated wildfire activity in Canada' contribute to the risk of a possible double-digit number of wildfire smoke alerts that could be issued this summer, the MPCA noted.
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