Air quality levels across northern Illinois to slowly improve

It seems this plume of wildfire smoke is taking forever to leave the Stateline. In fact, if you were outside during the afternoon or evening Thursday, you may have caught a whiff of it as some was able to reach the surface. We're dealing with the worst of the air quality this morning as much of the Stateline, Davenport, and even the Chicago metro are sitting with an air quality index (AQI) above 100. This is considered "unhealthy for some". 

For now, only two of our counties remain under an Air Quality Alert. Walworth County up in southern Wisconsin remains under the alert until noon today whereas the one for McHenry County runs a little later, expiring at midnight tonight. 

 

Wildfire smoke will continue to hinder our air quality as we round out the work week, though it won't be as impactful once we get into the afternoon. Expect AQI values to be sitting below 100 which falls under the "moderate" category. Similar values will be present over the upcoming weekend.