FORECAST SUMMARY: Monday, April 15, 2024, through friday, April 19, 2024
OZONE: Ozone concentrations are expected to be in the Good to low-Moderate range.
PM-2.5: PM-2.5 concentrations are expected to be in the Good to low-Moderate range.
FORECAST DISCUSSION:
Riding the coattails of a beautiful Michigan spring weekend, provides us a great way to start off the work week with clear skies and high temperatures ranging from the high-50s in the Upper Peninsula to low-70s in some parts of the Lower Peninsula.
High-pressure dominates the Great Lakes region as we start off this Monday with the pressure system slowly moving eastward as Tuesday carries on. The next weather system arrives late Tuesday into Wednesday as a Low-pressure system moves in from the southwest, bringing an associated frontal boundary with it which will cool temperatures down midweek. The Low-pressure will also provide periods of rain throughout Michigan as it traverses the Great Lakes on Wednesday. We bounce back slightly temperature-wise on Thursday and Friday with yet another cold front making its way through the region Friday evening. This will drop temperatures back down near seasonal norms, but this pressure system will be lacking the precipitation that the midweek system will provide.
For air quality this week, in regard to PM-2.5, today the Department of Natural Resources announced there will be three prescribed burns across the Lower Peninsula. A smoke plume may be visible in these areas, but no lasting air quality impacts are expected. For the remainder of the week, multiple waves of changing airmasses will help keep PM-2.5 concentrations in the Good range, with some peaks into the low-Moderate range. Each day this week will be relatively breezy so this, too, will help keep stagnation at bay. Ozone does not look to be an issue this week either as we are still relatively early in the season where we typically do not see high Ozone concentrations. Although it has happened in the past, like last year with the earliest Ozone alert on April 14th, this week does not look to have the proper ingredients for Ozone to develop beyond the low-Moderate range.
EXTENDED FORECAST:
The upcoming weekend, as of now, looks to be dry as a High-pressure system moves into the region late Saturday, therefore overall air quality should remain Good.
Next forecast update: Monday, April 19, 2024