June Discobs 2023

[87storms]

Never thought we'd be nearing July and rooting for southerly winds rather than a cool NW flow!  Give me a Bermuda high please

Been wanting a Bermuda High pattern since May lol. Unfortunately, the Canada wildfires might last all season.

[Stormchaserchuck1]

It's beautiful outside. 

[SomeguyfromTakomaPark]

Was gonna do a trail run in rock creek tomorrow.  Guess I’ll just workout indoors! Junk air again. 

[weatherCCB]

59/56

air already bad

152

[vastateofmind]

Currently 60/60. And yeah, AQ visibly and literally stinks right now. AQI at Mt. Vernon is at 167 and continues rising. LWX says S/SW flow might kick in during afternoon to scour some of it out. So much for enjoying the only two likely rain-free days this week.

[frd]

Wow smoke just as bad as it was three weeks ago.    Sun just a dim sphere.  

[frd]

4 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

Currently 60/60. And yeah, AQ visibly and literally stinks right now. AQI at Mt. Vernon is at 167 and continues rising. LWX says S/SW flow might kick in during afternoon to scour some of it out. So much for enjoying the only two likely rain-free days this week.

No indication fires burning will improve anytime soon.

[H2O]

Def noticeable crappy AQ. Doesn’t seem quite as smoky as a few weeks ago but still gross. Hazy and warmer so now it feels thicker

[MN Transplant]

I thought it smelled more yesterday but the 2.5 levels are a bit higher today.  Should diminish starting tomorrow as we go to a south wind.

[yoda]

Was this posted earlier?  If so, my apologies... but this is pretty neat -- https://fire.airnow.gov/

[vastateofmind]

23 minutes ago, yoda said:

Was this posted earlier?  If so, my apologies... but this is pretty neat -- https://fire.airnow.gov/

Thx for sharing...that's a very usable tool, as good as PurpleAir's map (maybe even a bit easier).

[frd]

26 minutes ago, yoda said:

Was this posted earlier?  If so, my apologies... but this is pretty neat -- https://fire.airnow.gov/

Thanks, FYI poor air quality extends West to Des Moines,  Iowa and South to Georgia, rather expansive area.    Daes Moines, Iowa

[MN Transplant]

16 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

Thx for sharing...that's a very usable tool, as good as PurpleAir's map (maybe even a bit easier).

I wish there was a middle ground where the map starts off as just dots, which looks cleaner, and then as you zoom in you can see the numbers.  PurpleAir and Paku both show the values all the time while this one doesn’t show them at all.  CoCoRaHS got it right with their interactive precip map.

[frd]

So what chemical reaction is causing this wildfire smoke to smell more like burning plastic and chemicals versus a typical wood burning ?  There are some conspiracy theories on the web about this currently.  

 

[mattie g]

11 minutes ago, frd said:

So what chemical reaction is causing this wildfire smoke to smell more like burning plastic and chemicals versus a typical wood burning ?  There are some conspiracy theories on the web about this currently.  

 

Of course there are!

[RickinBaltimore]

4 minutes ago, mattie g said:

Of course there are!

All of a sudden I hear James Spann's "Chemmmmmtraillllls" soundclip in my head. 

[weatherCCB]

Definitely a plastic/ chemical smell

Haze has gotten considerably thicker here in last hour

166 AQI  

78/60

 

[frd]

41 minutes ago, weatherCCB said:

Definitely a plastic/ chemical smell

Haze has gotten considerably thicker here in last hour

166 AQI  

78/60

 

The odor has increased around the Middletown area and the visibility has decreased. 

[weatherCCB]

11 minutes ago, frd said:

The owner has increased around the Middletown area and the visibility has decreased. 

We need that heat dome to push east.  Get this crap out of here.

Though I do worry about the fall season. Like you said fires aren’t getting any better.

[eyewall]

Not great in NC this morning eithe (Raleigh):

[WxUSAF]

Guidance suggests a pretty frustrating D2-4/5 with a lot of storms dying on our doorsteps and then reforming farther E/NE

[Wxtrix]

3 hours ago, frd said:

So what chemical reaction is causing this wildfire smoke to smell more like burning plastic and chemicals versus a typical wood burning ?  There are some conspiracy theories on the web about this currently.  

 

What’s that smell? Smoke from Canadian wildfires emitting particular scent

https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/whats-that-smell-smoke-canadian-wildfires-emitting-particular-scent/XLZWQ5WC5RDALISQUUUBBVZM6A/

Isoprenoids are compounds released when vegetation burns. Those compounds produce what we think of as a wood-burning smell or “campfire” smell. Well, those compounds break down quickly when exposed to UV radiation from the sun. Hence, the scent doesn’t travel too far.

What does carry a distance are volatile organic compounds like Benzene, Formaldehyde and Acrolein which all have a more pungent, sweet or metallic smell. That is what most of us have been smelling when stepping outside the last couple of days. Benzene is particularly dangerous, with long-term exposure, which is one of the many reasons we are encouraging you to stay inside while the air quality is so bad.

[BlizzardNole]

Check your AC filters after the smoke clears.  We replaced our filter in April and it's one of those 4-inch thick ones that's supposed to last up to a year.  We had an annual AC checkup last week and ours was dark gray already, like it had been in a whole year.  It was that smoke event from early June.  One of my friends had just changed his in late March and it was almost black.

82 and sickly yellow sun, AQI 175

[mappy]

6 minutes ago, BlizzardNole said:

Check your AC filters after the smoke clears.  We replaced our filter in April and it's one of those 4-inch thick ones that's supposed to last up to a year.  We had an annual AC checkup last week and ours was dark gray already, like it had been in a whole year.  It was that smoke event from early June.  One of my friends had just changed his in late March and it was almost black.

82 and sickly yellow sun, AQI 175

we changed our filter after the last smoky week, and yeah it was pretty gross. 

[87storms]

Of course I would be on a connecting flight in Chicago with what looks like a derecho approaching lol.

[87storms]

…think they’re gonna try to take the northern route out of here. I like that idea as opposed to being grounded for 2 hrs.

[Stormfly]

46 minutes ago, BlizzardNole said:

Check your AC filters after the smoke clears.  We replaced our filter in April and it's one of those 4-inch thick ones that's supposed to last up to a year.  We had an annual AC checkup last week and ours was dark gray already, like it had been in a whole year.  It was that smoke event from early June.  One of my friends had just changed his in late March and it was almost black.

82 and sickly yellow sun, AQI 175

Don't forget about cabin air filters in your vehicles too!  If you drive a lot, these will be even worse!

[BlizzardNole]

Oooh good point on the car filters.  Oh and new drought map still reflects severe -- I bet my little micro-desert qualifies as extreme as I've had less than 1.5 for June

[CAPE]

A couple shots from Terrapin Park today. Needless to say it wasn't cloudy/ foggy. 'smoke on the water'. Wild.

[vastateofmind]

4 hours ago, BlizzardNole said:

Check your AC filters after the smoke clears.  We replaced our filter in April and it's one of those 4-inch thick ones that's supposed to last up to a year.  We had an annual AC checkup last week and ours was dark gray already, like it had been in a whole year.  It was that smoke event from early June.  One of my friends had just changed his in late March and it was almost black.

82 and sickly yellow sun, AQI 175

Your post couldn't be more timely. We had our every-six-month HVAC check done today....and $2,700 later, we need to have a UV light cleaning system installed, our heat pump refrigerant "restored/recharged," and perhaps most important, our blower rotor cleaned. The amount of "filth" on the rotor was way more stacked up than it's ever been before, and the air filter in the HVAC? Very greyish/black. When I asked the tech if the late-May/early-June wildfire crap had anything to do with that soiling, he said, "Absolutely, yes...have seen it in dozens of other customers." I usually monitor our HVAC filters for dog hair....but didn't think it would be this ruined in less than a month. Good Lord. Stay apprised of your HVAC status, folks....this sh*t can get expensive.