Portland air quality to worsen as wildfire smoke pushes west

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Light, Northwesterly winds are forecast to push wildfire smoke into the Portland area starting Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday.

KOIN 6 Meteorologist Kelley Bayern forecasts that air quality conditions could worsen from good to moderate by Wednesday afternoon.

“We're hot and hazy today,” Bayern said. “We'll start a three-day stretch in the 90s through Friday with a spike into the mid-upper 90s tomorrow. Wildfire smoke from fires in Washington will push across the Portland metro area by this afternoon. Air quality is expected to drop to the moderate category.”

The National Weather Service predicts that the smoky haze will spread further west on Thursday, covering most of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.

“The heaviest concentrations of smoke are expected within closer proximity to ongoing wildfires, especially in the Cascades and Hood River County,” the NWS daily forecast discussion states.

This week’s temperatures are predicted to peak at 96 degrees on Thursday. Cooler weather in the 70s is forecast for early next week.