Moderate air quality expected through Aug. 3

CARLOS FUENTES, The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·1 min read

Jul. 30—LA GRANDE — The air quality forecast for La Grande has improved, with AQI levels expected to remain in the moderate category until Tuesday, Aug. 3, according to the air monitoring website +IQAir.

The AQI is expected to reach 74 on July 31, followed by 58 on Aug. 1 and 53 on Aug. 2.

On Aug. 3, the AQI is expected to lower to 27, in the "good" category.

"What we're expecting most days is light winds in the morning from the southwest, and then it switches in the latter half of the day to more winds from the west and northwest," Ann Adams, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Pendleton, said.

Winds through the first few days of August are expected to stay light, generally under 10 miles per hour, according to Adams.

Adams added that smoke from the Bootleg Fire and other fires in northern California have consistently entered the valley due to wind moving in the northeast direction.

In the forecast for the last weekend of July, there is a slight chance of rain and thunderstorms, particularly on the evenings of July 31 and Aug. 1.

The rain might help keep some of the smoke to a minimum, Adams said.

Temperatures are expected to stay warm, with an anticipated high of 92 degrees on July 31 and highs between 80 and 90 degrees for the next several days.

The potential lightning, combined with the expected high heat of the weekend, has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Fire Weather Warning for Saturday evening, when temperatures are expected to reach a high of 92 degrees.