Will incoming storms help clear hazy skies in Kentucky? Here’s the latest forecast
The Kentucky skies have been clouded by smoke and haze from the Canadian wildfires for days, but incoming storms could help push the smoke out of the region.
The hazy skies stuck around Lexington for a second straight day Thursday. The National Weather Service placed more than 40 Kentucky counties — extending from the northern half of the state all the way down to the Tennessee border — on an air quality alert. It includes Fayette County and several others that neighbor it. Air quality alerts have been issued in more than 20 states home to more than a third of the U.S. population, according to reporting by ABC News and CNN.
But multiple thunderstorms with varying severity are expected to pass through Kentucky beginning Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. According to the hazardous weather warning, which extends to Fayette, Jessamine, Madison and other nearby counties, the storm is expected to arrive in three waves.
“The second wave hazards will be strong damaging winds, lightning and heavy rain. Isolated tornadoes are possible during the late afternoon into the evening with the second wave of storms. The third wave hazards include heavy rain and lightning,” the NWS said Thursday.
Isolated flash flooding with extended periods of heavy rain may also be in the mix as well. Torrential rainfall is expected to continue Friday and into the weekend, according to the forecast.
Given this, meteorologist Mike Kochasic with the National Weather Service said it’s vital for the public to remain weather aware. Check for the latest updates on weather.gov, ensure your phone is configured to receive weather notifications and consider investing in a weather radio.
While the severe weather presents its own problems, it could help alleviate the smoky and hazy skies in Kentucky. Rain and wind help diminish the amount of particulates in the air, according to Kochasic.
“The more you have particulates in the air like that and you have rain moving in, it will naturally start pulling some of that particulate out of the air,” Kochasic said.
How long will the wildfire smoke stick around Kentucky?
The NWS projects that the smoky and hazy conditions could diminish by late Thursday or early Friday, Kochasic said. The latest models show the smoke clearing out Thursday evening, perhaps by 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, he said.
John Mura, executive director of communications with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, said air quality conditions in Owensboro have already cleared due to the storms the city has experienced. At 9 a.m. Thursday, Owensboro had an air quality index of 156, but by noon that number had shrunk to 51, according to online data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Lexington had an air quality index of 126 as of 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the EPA. The index is measured from 0 to 500, with higher numbers reflecting worse air quality.
An air quality reading of 126 falls under the orange category of the index. In the orange category, the EPA advises medically at-risk people to choose less-strenuous outdoor activities or avoid outdoor exposure altogether. Medically at-risk people are those with heart or lung disease, people with asthma or other breathing problems, the elderly and children, according to the EPA.
However, the air quality index in Lexington has improved Thursday. It peaked at 1 a.m. with a reading of 164 and has progressively lowered since.
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