Category: air quality

Summer is here! Heat, humidity, and poor air quality

June 13, 2024

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, heat, summer

An extended period of “late spring” is coming to an end. The past month has featured brief periods of hot weather, but generally with fairly moderate humidity levels. Even when we have hit 90 degrees, which has only been a couple of times, there has been no noticeable heat index. That changes this weekend. Thursday’s…
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Minimal rain chances, but it’ll be hot for the foreseeable future

June 15, 2018

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, code orange, excessive heat, forecast discussion

Summer “officially” starts 6 days from today, but Mother Nature has decided to bring on the full-on summertime pattern to our area early. This weekend into next week, our forecast pattern will be primarily influenced by a high pressure that has developed over our area. This high pressure will keep our rain chances to a…
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Humidity on the rise, hot temps continue

June 6, 2018

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, code orange, forecast discussion

Code Orange Air Quality Alert Tomorrow The Memphis area briefly reached Code Red for poor air quality late this afternoon, though that expires at sunset. However, yet another Code Orange Air Quality Alert (AQA) is in effect for tomorrow for Shelby and surrounding counties. This AQA is due to the forecast ozone quantities in near-surface…
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How a mulch fire and atmospheric inversion create a smoky morning commute

October 14, 2015

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, smoke, weather 101

As we drove into town last evening from a few (well-deserved I might say) days at the beach with family, a huge plume of smoke emanated from the area around I-40 and Sycamore View near Bartlett. I didn’t know what was on fire at the time, nor did I realize (since I had been away…
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Shelby Co. Health Department issues first-ever “Code Purple” air quality alert

June 27, 2012

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, ozone

Memphis metro residents got an air quality wake-up call that seemed to come out of nowhere today. A Code Orange Air Quality Alert that has become the norm under hot and stagnant air conditions was raised to Code Red about 4:30pm as ozone levels climbed, then raised again to uncharted territory – a Code Purple…
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What’s up with these Code Orange ozone alerts?

June 26, 2012

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, code orange, education

Thanks to hot conditions generated by stagnant high pressure over the region, the low-level ozone is forecast by the Shelby County Health Department Air Quality Improvement Branch to be high enough that a Code Orange Ozone Advisory has been issued for Wednesday. This is certainly not the first of these advisories to be issued this…
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Hazy and hot will be joined by humid – and it’s only the beginning of June!

June 3, 2011

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, heat, ozone

The Mid-South is in the throes of weather normally reserved for August as the 3 H’s (heat, haze, and humidity) are combining to make things miserable across the region. The heat began last Saturday as we started a streak of 90-degree days that right now seems to have no end. With a week of 90-degree…
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Code Orange Ozone Forecast for Tuesday

April 12, 2010

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, code orange, ozone

AIR QUALITY ALERT MESSAGEMEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTRELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN417 PM CDT MON APR 12 2010 …CODE ORANGE OZONE FORECAST FOR TUESDAY… THE MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS ISSUED A CODE ORANGE OZONE FORECAST EFFECTIVE FOR SHELBY COUNTY TENNESSEE… CRITTENDEN COUNTY ARKANSAS… AND DESOTO COUNTY MISSISSIPPI… INCLUDING THE…
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Heat Advisory and Code Orange extended

July 21, 2008

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, heat

The Heat Advisory for the entire metro area, all of west TN, north MS, and eastern AR, and the Code Orange Air Quality Alert for the Memphis area, will be in effect through Tuesday evening. Today’s highs as of 3:45pm include 99 at Memphis Int’l, 97 at Jackson, 100 in Jonesboro and Tupelo, and 99…
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Code Orange Ozone Forecast

July 16, 2008

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, ozone

AIR QUALITY ALERT MESSAGEMEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTRELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN338 PM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008 …CODE ORANGE OZONE FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY… THE MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT HASISSUED A CODE ORANGE OZONE FORECAST EFFECTIVE FORSHELBY COUNTY TENNESSEE…CRITTENDEN COUNTY ARKANSAS…AND DESOTO COUNTY MISSISSIPPI…INCLUDING THE CITY OFMEMPHIS FOR WEDNESDAY THIS…
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Air Quality Awareness Week – Tuesday

April 29, 2008

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Erik Proseus

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air quality

AIR QUALITY CAN VARY…DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH AIR POLLUTION IS PRODUCED IN YOUR COMMUNITY…HOW MUCH POLLUTION IS CARRIED INTO YOUR COMMUNITY BY THE WIND…AND BY WEATHER CONDITIONS. OZONE FORMS WHEN TWO GROUPS OF KEY POLLUTANTS…NITROGEN OXIDES AND VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS…COOK IN THE SUN. FOR EXAMPLE…PARTICULATE MATTER CAN BE DIRECTLY EMITTED IN SMOKE FROM A WOODSTOVE…BUT…
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Air Quality Awareness week – Monday

April 28, 2008

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Erik Proseus

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air quality

THIS WEEK MARKS THE BEGINNING OF OZONE SEASON FOR MANY AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES. IN THE MID-SOUTH THE OZONE SEASON OCCURS FROM APRIL 1ST THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST. EACH DAY OF AIR QUALITY AWARENESS WEEK WILL FEATURE A UNIQUE TOPIC RELEVANT TO EDUCATION AND PREPAREDNESS. TODAY WE HIGHLIGHT TWO TYPES OF AIR POLLUTION: OZONE AND…
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