Continued transport of smoke into Colorado, possibly increasing through the weekend ahead, 7/18/24

 Clockwise flow around high pressure anchored over the 4-corners area will continue to support the transport of smoke from wildfires in the northwestern U.S. In addition to this, a trough digging into the Midwest will create a corridor of upper level winds moving north-to-south along the greater Rocky Mountains over the weekend. 

Image of GFS 500mb winds on Saturday, July 20th, 2024, courtesy Weathernerds.org.

    

This pattern is expected to continue the hazy skies and light concentrations of fine particulates that have been seen already, and may gradually increase impacts on air quality by next week. If the north-to-south transport that models are hinting at comes together, there is potential for significant degradation of conditions through the weekend, and into next week.

Image courtesy of NOAA NCEP.

Surface impacts that may result from the upper level transport currently remain uncertain, however there is potential for increasing levels of smoke (fine particulates) throughout Colorado. Updates will continue to be provided as things evolve and expectations become more clear.