Thunder Pig

Code Orange - Air Quality Action Day for Charlotte and the Asheville Ridge Tops on Tuesday, June 2, 2009!
OPEN BURNING IS PROHIBITED in the Charlotte and Asheville regions!

Date: Monday, June 1, 2009 - 15:00 EDT

Forecast Valid: Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Today's Air Quality Conditions: Ozone is on the rise and is on track to reach the upper Code Yellow around Charlotte and the middle Code Yellow elsewhere across the Piedmont and sandhills. Ozone around Rocky Mount and the Asheville region will remain in Code Green. Particle pollution is on an upward trend but it should hold in the Code Green. For a display of the most recent air quality conditions throughout the remainder of this afternoon, please visit the NC DAQ monitoring site or the US EPA's AIRNOW web site.

General Forecast Discussion: A small high pressure system over the Midatlantic will slide off the coast tonight and weaken. Meanwhile, a weak ridge will build at the middle and upper levels over the southeastern US, which will promote sinking and warming air with little in the way of clouds. Relatively light winds will lead to a bit of stagnation and allow ozone to rise a bit higher than today. Ozone around Charlotte should reach the Code Orange tomorrow afternoon, while ozone in other forecast regions rises well into the Code Yellow. The Asheville Ridge Tops may experience Code Orange ozone tonight or again tomorrow night as high ozone blows in from Knoxville or Atlanta. Particle pollution will rise into the Code Yellow.

Outlook: The weak upper ridge will weaken by early Wednesday and a cold front will begin pushing into the Appalachians later in the day. Winds will increase and there will be a slight chance of an afternoon storm. Winds will be high enough to disperse any pollutant buildup on Tuesday, and air quality should be no worse than middle Code Yellow. The front will slowly approach the state Thursday and Friday and finally push through the state early Saturday. Skies will be mostly cloudy with a decent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Air quality is expected to reside in the Code Green.

(Witcraft - NC Division of Air Quality)

What is the point of all this whooping and hollering? The same website gives us a list of things that we could do different today (I certainly won't) on a bad air day.

I'll give you guys a full report on the condition of the air in Jackson County and if I should succumb to the bad air, avenge me!!!