Hot and Hazy

Posted by matsublog

Posted: July 6, 2009 - 1:35 pm

Comments (0) |

From S.J. Komarnitsky in Wasilla --

Just blame the Interior. The light haze coating the Valley, and irritating some people's breathing, is coming from fires in the Interior. The haze is expected to continue at least for the next few days along with the sunny weather.

Matt Taraldsen, a student forecaster at the weather service office in Anchorage, said the smoke is being carried by upper level winds to Mat-Su and other places in Southcentral. So far, the haze has been pretty light, although Taraldsen said last night he could smell the smoke at the office in Anchorage. The smoke is in all levels of the atmosphere, but is most visible only at a distance like if you're looking up or at the mountains, or if the sun is behind it, he said. Denali National Park and Fairbanks are also being affected.

Here's the full note posted today on the National Weather Service website:

...WIDESPREAD HAZE AND WARM WEATHER OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA...

WIDESPREAD HAZE HAS BEEN OBSERVED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA. THIS HAZE IS A RESULT OF SMOKE FROM FIRES IN THE INTERIOR OF THE STATE. THE SMOKE FROM THESE FIRES HAS BEEN TRAPPED IN THE LOWER PART OF THE ATMOSPHERE BY A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHERN ALASKA. HAZY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK AS THE RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE AREA.

IN ADDITION TO THE HAZE...NEAR RECORD TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE TODAY. THE CURRENT RECORD IS 80 DEGREES AT THE ANCHORAGE
FORECAST OFFICE LOCATED ON SAND LAKE ROAD. THE HIGH TODAY IS EXPECTED TO BE IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S.

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