Scattered Severe Thunderstorms Across the Northern Plains; Fire Weather Concerns in the Western U.S.

Scattered severe thunderstorms are forecast across central and eastern North Dakota, as well as far northwest Minnesota Saturday (Slight Risk level 2 of 5). Damaging wind gusts are the primary threat. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will persist through the weekend across the Western U.S. Isolated dry thunderstorms could lead to new fire starts over portions of the northern Rockies. Read More >

Air Quality

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), issues daily air quality forecast guidance as part of a national Air Quality Forecasting Capability. NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) currently provides forecast guidance for ozone and smoke based on numerical atmospheric predictions updated twice daily. read more ...

Air Quality Forecast Guidance

Air Quality Alerts (AQA)

Air Quality Indexes (AQI)

About the Air Quality Index

The EPA developed the Air Quality Index (AQI) which reports levels of ozone, particle pollution, and other common air pollutants on the same scale. An AQI reading of 101 corresponds to a level that is above the national air quality standard - the higher the AQI rating, the greater the health impact. The AQI is divided into color-coded categories, and each category is identified by a simple informative descriptor. The descriptors are intended to convey to the public information about how air quality within each category relates to public health.

The table below defines the AQI categories.

AQI	AQI Category	AQI	Color Formulas
Numbers	(Descriptor)	Color	(RGB)	(CMYK)
0 - 50	Good	Green	0,228,0	224,0,224,30
51 - 100	Moderate	Yellow	255,255,0	0,0,255,0
101 - 150	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Orange	255,126,0	0,132,255,0
151 - 200	Unhealthy	Red	255,0,0	0,255,255,0
201 - 300	Very Unhealthy	Purple	153,0,76	0,153,80,102
301 - 500	Hazardous	Maroon	76,0,38	0,76,38,179