August 22, 2021 - The National Weather Service Hanford Office reports the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has issued an Air Quality Alert valid until nearby fires are extinguished for Merced County, Madera County, Fresno County, Kings County, Tulare County, Stanislaus County, San Joaquin County, and the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County.
Additionally, the Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District has issued an Air Quality Alert through Monday for Mariposa County. This Air Quality Alert is due to smoke impacts from wildfires in Northern California and other fires in Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Tulare Counties.
For additional information, call your local San Joaquin Valley Air District office. Modesto 209-557-6400, Fresno 559-230-6000, and Bakersfield 661-392-5500.
Residents can also follow air quality conditions by downloading the free Valley Air app, available in the Apple store or Google Play.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 1251 AM PDT Sun Aug 22 2021 .SYNOPSIS... Smoke and haze will linger in Central California due to surrounding wildfires. High temperatures each afternoon today through Tuesday will be below normal for this time of year. A warming trend is expected Wednesday and Thursday. Widespread triple digit heat is likely in the San Joaquin Valley, Kern County desert, and Coastal Range Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. && .DISCUSSION... A vertically integrated smoke projection from the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh computer model indicates heavy smoke from the French Fire moving northward and consuming the eastern portion of Tulare County this afternoon. Visibilities in most of Central California should fall to three to five miles in smoke and haze this afternoon. Air quality will likely be unhealthy for sensitive groups this weekend into early next week. There is high forecast confidence of a long-wave troughing pattern near the west coast of the United States this weekend through early next week. As a result, high temperatures this afternoon will be five to seven degrees below normal for this time of year. Maximum temperatures Monday afternoon will be three to five degrees below their typical values for the latter half of August. High temperatures Tuesday afternoon will be a couple of degrees below normal for this time of year. 500 mb heights should gradually increase Wednesday into the upcoming weekend, resulting in a warming trend. High temperatures Wednesday afternoon will be near normal for this time of year. Maximum temperatures Thursday afternoon will be a couple of degrees above normal for the latter half of August. Widespread triple digit heat is expected in the San Joaquin Valley, Kern County desert, and Coastal Range Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. The probability of maximum temperatures of 105 degrees or higher Saturday afternoon at Fresno and Bakersfield is 30 percent. Dry weather will persist for the foreseeable future. && .AVIATION... In the Sierra Nevada, areas of MVFR conditions, with local mountain obscured IFR visibilities, are expected in smoke and haze. In the San Joaquin Valley, MVFR visibilities are likely this afternoon due to smoke and haze. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES... Please see SFOAQAHNX for an Air Quality Alert. On Sunday, August 22nd, 2021, unhealthy for sensitive groups in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, and Tulare Counties, as well as in Sequoia National Park and Forest. Further information is available at Valleyair.org.Source: NWS
