Guest Post by Washoe County Air Quality - Summer is the Season of Ozone

Enjoy this guest post from our friends at Washoe County Air Quality! 

- - - - - - - -

Forecast calls for sunny skies and hot temperatures for Northern Nevada. The air quality should be good as long as there isn't any wildfire smoke, right? Well, not necessarily. Let me explain. 

Summer is the season of ozone (O3). There is both stratospheric and ground level O3. The stratospheric ozone protects us from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ground level ozone is an air pollutant that harms humans and the environment especially during hot and sunny summer afternoons. 

Ground level O3 is created by the chemical reactions between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) in the presence of sunlight. NOx and VOCs, also ozone precursors, come from motor vehicles, industrial processes, power generation, and consumer products among many other things including wildfire smoke. Urban and suburban areas will have higher levels of ozone than rural areas, but it can travel hundreds of miles. 

Breathing levels of ozone can cause a variety of health problems including throat irritation, coughing, chest pain, and congestion. Ozone can also worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. It can reduce lung function and inflame the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue. Even healthy people can experience difficulty breathing. Because Ozone typically forms during hot, sunny days, anyone who spends time enjoying the outdoors especially children, the elderly and active adults are at risk. 

You can protect yourself and those around you from Ozone by paying attention to your local air quality forecasts and real-time AQI. Go to OurCleanAir.com for Washoe County air quality information or AirNow.gov for your local area (some areas may not have monitoring data on AirNow.) Exercise, play, or work outside when ozone levels are not high, typically during the morning and evening hours. 

You can also reduce your emissions by: 
  • driving less, 
  • not idling your engine, 
  • commuting by bike or public transportation, 
  • filling your gas tank up at dusk, 
  • using environmentally friendly paints and cleaners, 
  • and bring energy efficient at home and work. 

 The Washoe County Health District Air Quality Management Division (AQMD) is also doing its part to reduce Ozone precursors and educating the public. The annual smog check program is one of the measure in Washoe County to reduce emissions from motor vehicles. AQMD also permits sources of VOCs and NOx from business and industrial facilities. Under our award winning public education "Keep it Clean" campaign, we implement clean air strategies like having idle-free areas around schools and encouraging and advocating for biking, walking, public transit, alternative fuel vehicles, and other sustainable practices. 

Everyone can do something to take care of our air so we can all enjoy summertime in the Sierra and western Nevada. For more information go to OurCleanAir.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. 

-Washoe County Air Quality 

Popular posts from this blog

NWS Wind Forecasts: AKA What's the Deal With Friction?

Image
We have had a number of comments on social media which mention much lower observed wind speeds locally than are in the forecast. Well, you are unlikely to know this (it is not exactly advertised!) but National Weather Service wind forecasts are for 10 meters, or almost 33 ft, above the ground. As we are about to explain, that makes all the difference in the wind between eye-level (~5-6 feet) and ~33 feet.  It is natural to wonder the purpose of a wind height forecast well above where you and I typically reside. The main reason for this is the complication in forecasting wind as one nears the ground due to frictional influence caused by the surface. Here is a diagram showing the concept of wind speeds change as one gets away from the ground.  As you can see above, there is a rapid speed reduction (gray dashed line) near the ground with a lesser change away from the surface. Note that the above diagram is generalized. How much reduction is realized depends on the nature of the surface wh
Read more

What is the Rain Shadow and What's Wind Gotta do With It?

Image
The dreaded rain shadow - something that those of us who live east of the Sierra crest are more than familiar with and hate to hear. So what is this rain shadow and why does it even exist? Lets start with the topography just to our west... The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 400 miles from north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles wide. It includes the highest peak in the lower 48, Mt Whitney at 14,505 feet, and rises above 10,000 feet in many locations. Left: The Sierra Nevada Mountains highlighted in blue. Right: A relief map showing elevation (in meters) of the Sierra. The Sierra are a significant barrier for Pacific storms which typically move from west to east. The movement of air masses and associated weather cannot go through the mountains and is forced up and over the mountain range. As Pacific moisture is driven eastward by the wind, the air mass is lifted up and over the Sierra. Rising air will cool and once it reaches the point of saturation, condense into
Read more

Forecasting "Dry Microburst" Potential From Soundings and Observations

Image
Summer afternoons in the valleys of eastern California and western Nevada usually feature dry low level relative humidity. In certain cases where low levels are very dry (single digit relative humidities) and enough instability for showers and/or thunderstorms exists, there is the heightened possibility for severe (over 60 mph) outflow winds. Now, severe winds are possible from strong thunderstorms in many cases, even without very dry surface relative humidity. However, what makes very dry surface or low level conditions special is that severe outflow winds are possible even with w eak  convection such as light showers...or even just cumulus clouds! When severe winds are produced by convection with little or no rainfall reaching the ground, it is referred to as a "dry microburst". Microbursts can be of significant danger to aviation and, if they are strong enough, life and property. Before we move onto what conditions we look for to determine the threat for dry microbursts,
Read more