Wildfire smoke to blow into Portland Tuesday, poor air quality expected

Smoke from various wildfires will blow into Portland on Tuesday, creating hazy skies and worsening air quality in the metro area.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Smoke from various wildfires will blow into Portland on Tuesday, creating hazy skies and worsening air quality in the metro area.

KOIN 6 Meteorologist Josh Cozart forecasts southerly winds pushing the smoke north into the Willamette Valley. Although air quality is expected to suffer in Portland, the conditions will be far less severe than those seen in 2020, when then-acting U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a federal public health emergency in response to the wildfire smoke smothering the city.

“This isn't expected to be anything like what we saw in 2020, but those who are sensitive to poor air quality will likely be impacted,” Cozart said. “Skies will likely become increasingly hazy Tuesday afternoon with the worst of the air quality expected in the late afternoon and early evening.”

Temperatures are expected to reach 96 degrees in the Portland metro area late Tuesday afternoon. A KOIN 6 Weather Alert is in place Tuesday for dangerous heat, dry weather, and an increased wildfire potential as thunderstorms have a chance of producing dry lightning east of the Cascades.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for much of Central and Western Oregon and Central Washington. The fire weather watch will last from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday evening.