Air Quality Alert Now in Place For Minnesota and Wisconsin

Just as I was getting ready to start a chainsaw today to clean up trees that fell in the storm last night, I started coughing quite a bit. I have asthma, and ever since the Canadian smoke appeared in our sky back in May, I've been having a tough time getting it under control. I even ended up getting bronchitis a few weeks ago...and it was horrible!

I should have known that something was wrong with our air today just by the symptoms I was personally having - coughing, itchy eyes, lungs felt tight, and I got to the point where my inhaler was necessary several times.

Unfortunately, the weather alert that popped up today for our air quality in Minnesota is not good news for me. Sadly, it looks like this alert isn't going away anytime soon.

Weather Alert Now In Place for the Majority of Minnesota and Wisconsin

The weather over the next few days is going to feel pretty amazing. Temps are going to be in the mid to upper 70s! Unfortunately, you'll want to keep those windows shut for a few more days.

According to the National Weather Service La Crosse, an air quality alert has once again been placed on several states in the Midwest.

"An Air Quality Alert has been added for Minnesota and lasts all the way through Saturday, August 2nd. This means that all our Wisconsin and Southeastern Minnesota counties are currently under n Air Quality Alert. Sensitive groups should try to limit outdoor activities" - @NWSLaCrosse on X

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If you dig deeper, you'll see that the National Weather Service has shared this air quality alert with the majority of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

"Northerly winds will continue transporting waves of heavy surface smoke from wildfires across Manitoba and
Saskatchewan into Minnesota. Smoke will move south across all of Minnesota and linger through Saturday afternoon. The smoke will be reinforced by an area of high pressure that will create light winds and limit the dispersion of smoke. Therefore the air quality alert has been expanded to include all of Minnesota and extended until Saturday afternoon when the air quality is forecasted to improve." - weather.gov

All of the counties impacted are shown below on the map and highlighted in gray.

weather.gov

A few of the cities that are impacted by this air quality alert include Rochester, Dodge Center, Austin, Plainview, Red Wing, Preston, Albert Lea, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth.

Photo by Muhammad Daudy on Unsplash

CAUTION! Sensitive Groups Need To Be Aware of Symptoms

It may seem like a broken record this summer, but poor air quality can negatively impact everyone. Based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, individuals that are in one of the sensitive groups below, need to give extra attention and focus to how they are feeling and be aware of how much they are exposed:

Children
Older adults who are 65+
People with pre-existing heart and lung diseases (asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disease, etc.)
Pregnant women
Those who work or exercise outside
Individuals in low socioeconomic neighborhoods and communities

In other words...if you have an inhaler, keep it handy!

11 of the Most Devastating Weather Disasters in Minnesota Throughout The Years

We might be full of lakes and "nice" but Minnesota has had its fair share of horrible and nasty weather. Throughout the years we've had floods, fires, storms that have crushed stadium roofs flat, and tornadoes that have destroyed lives.

Gallery Credit: Jessica Williams