Pagosa Peak is out there somewhere! Not a good day for hiking if you suffer from respiratory illnesses or heart disease.
8-8-21: 2pm update
..AIR QUALITY HEALTH ADVISORY FOR WILDFIRE SMOKE FROM 800 AM SUNDAY UNTIL 900 AM MONDAY… The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has issued the following… WHAT…Air Quality Health Advisory for Wildfire Smoke. WHERE…Moffat, Routt, Grand, Rio Blanco, Eagle, Summit, Garfield, Pitkin, Mesa, Delta, Gunnison, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel, Dolores, Montezuma, La Plata, Saguache, San Juan, Hinsdale, Mineral and Archuleta Counties. Locations include, but are not limited to Craig, Steamboat Springs, Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, Kremmling, Meeker, Rangely, Eagle, Vail, Breckenridge, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Grand Junction, Delta, Gunnison, Montrose, Nucla, Ouray, Telluride, Dove Creek, Cortez, Durango, Hermosa, Honeyville, Rockwood, Saguache, Silverton, Lake City, Creede and Pagosa Springs.
WHEN…800 AM Sunday August 08 to 900 AM Monday August 09 IMPACTS…Heavy smoke from California wildfires will continue to move into Colorado Sunday, affecting western and central Colorado on Sunday and Monday. Expect the heaviest smoke impacts in sheltered valley locations where atmospheric mixing is more limited. HEALTH INFORMATION…Public Health Recommendations: If smoke is thick or becomes thick in your neighborhood you may want to remain indoors. This is especially true for those with heart disease, respiratory illnesses, the very young, and the elderly. Consider limiting outdoor activity when moderate to heavy smoke is present. Consider relocating temporarily if smoke is present indoors and is making you ill. If visibility is less than 5 miles in smoke in your neighborhood, smoke has reached levels that are unhealthy.
We saw some lows in our area dip to the mid 30’s this morning with some very dry air over us. Our highs have rebounded to the upper 70’s and low 80’s as I write this post. The smoke is actually lowering our temps a few degrees since the sun is having a hard time filtering through the dirty skies. We should see some smoke improvement by Monday afternoon as upper level winds shift into a zonal flow (west-east), keeping the worst of the smoke to our north. Rain odds continue to look pretty scant over the next three days as indicated by the latest NWS rainfall forecast graphic below, however there will be some very isolated afternoon scattered storms starting on Tuesday. By later in the week models are hinting at a chance the monsoon pattern will start setting up again, but as of this post, I’m not going to Vegas on the odds!
My forecast…
The rest of today…A 100% chance for smoke with highs in the upper 70’s and low 80’s.
Monday-Wednesday: The smoke should begin to wane a bit as the week progresses. By Tuesday, very scattered afternoon storms begin to enter the forecast. Lows will range from the 40’s (unless you live in a cold spot) and highs in the low 80’s.
-Mark Langford
Check out my Pagosa Peak Cam (myearthcam.com) for watching hikers, bikers and of course, the weather.
Pagosa Springs historical data for August 8th.
| Average High | Record High / Year | Average Low | Record Low / Year |
| 82 | 90 / 1969 | 45 | 29 / 1956 |
