By Bill McAuliffe
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Copyright 2006 Star Tribune
All Rights Reserved
The recent haze and the smell of smoke in the air weren’t from your neighbor’s grill.
Northwesterly winds have carried smoke from forest fires in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan down across the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa and into Illinois, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Chanhassen.
The smoke limited visibility and, by suppressing temperatures and the rise of warm air, may even have prevented rain from falling in some parts of the state, said forecaster Matt Friedlein.
A Northwest Airlines pilot reported reduced visibility because of smoke between 7,000 and 10,000 feet, Friedlein said. Rick Strassman, supervisor of the air monitoring unit for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said monitors in Grand Portage, Detroit Lakes and Ely all detected increases in particulate matter caused by smoke Tuesday.
The smoke pushed the air quality index toward dangerous levels but not enough to issue warnings, Strassman said. But he added that when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adjusts its air quality standards in September, conditions similar to those in recent days likely would result in warnings.
The Canadian fires continue to burn, and NWS forecaster Karen Trammell said the smoke may linger in the Twin Cities and Upper Midwest through Friday, when winds in advance of a cold front are expected to come from the south.