Air quality alert through Thursday: wildfire smoke, light winds

AIR QUALITY ALERT

An air quality alert continues through Thursday for the greater Columbus area due to wildfire smoke from Canada creating unhealthy conditions outdoors. Prolonged activity or strenuous exertion should be avoided until the air quality improves toward the weekend, when some rain is expected. MORPC is projecting an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 158 on Thursday, which is categorized as "unhealthy" for all.

Hazy sunshine prevailed, as a blanket of smoky haze limited the rise in temperature to near 80 degrees. An area of high pressure will move across the region, keeping the weather dry for a few days, before moving off to the east by Friday.

Clouds will arrive overnight from a band of showers and storms that will pass mostly west of Ohio Thursday, with skies going from mostly cloudy to partly sunny. A stray shower could reach areas west of Columbus. Temperatures will warm a little to the low 80s.

A southerly flow of increasingly humid air and a series of disturbances will increase the likelihood of showers and storms, beginning on Friday and continuing off and on through the holiday weekend.

Rain chances will decrease Monday evening ahead of Red, White & Boom!

Forecast

• Wednesday: Hazy sky. High 81
• Tonight: Some clouds. Low 62
• Thursday: Partly sunny, warm, stray shower west High 82
• Friday: Partly sunny, scattered showers, storms. High 85 (68)
• Saturday: Mostly cloudy, scattered showers, storms. High 84 (70)
• Sunday: Showers, storms at times. High 80 (68)
• Red, White& Boom!: Partly sunny, isolated storms. High 83 (66)
• Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High 85 (65)