Community Corner

Local Weather Talk: Hurricanes, Droughts and Smog

The air quality is in the unhealthy range for sensitive groups on this hot Thursday in early June.

Just down the road in our Smyrna-Vinings Patch is The Weather Channel, and the fearless forecasters there have indicated that with the start of hurricane season, our friends southward in Savannah are living in the 4th most hurricane-overdue city in the U.S.

The National Weather Service has termed Georgia hurricanes a “sleeping giant,” as it was way back in 1893 when a major hurricane last made a direct hit in the Savannah area.

Being landlocked, metro Atlanta hasn’t been impacted much by hurricanes (but they certainly can do some damage if they blow through as exemplified by Hurricane Ivan in 2004). Still we could use some rain as folks talk about the return of drought conditions.

Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

All the heat today could spark thunderstorms this afternoon or tonight, the National Weather Service warns, although it’s only a 20-percent chance. The odds are better you’ll be feeling the heat as the high on this sunny day will be around 93, and the overnight low will be about 68. And there's a Code Orange air-quality warning today.

The Georgia Clean Air Campaign has issued a smog alert for Thursday, June 2.

Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Today’s air quality index (AQI) forecast is 111, an unhealthy range for sensitive groups. The corresponding ozone concentration is 80 parts per billion.

A code orange advisory means children, people who are sensitive to ozone, and people with heart or lung disease should limit prolonged outdoor exertion during the late afternoon or early evening when ozone concentrations are highest.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) has five color-coded levels: green or good (AQI 0 to 50), yellow or moderate (AQI 51 to 100), orange or unhealthy for sensitive groups (AQI 101-150), red or unhealthy  (AQI 151 to 200) and purple or very unhealthy (AQI 201 to 300).

The Clean Air Campaign issues smog alerts on days when the concentrations of either ozone or particle pollution -- or both -- are expected to reach unhealthy levels.

To help improve air quality, The Clean Air Campaign recommends the following steps to keep more cars off the road thereby reducing the amount of smog-forming vehicle emissions that contribute to poor air quality:

  • Commuters can carpool, vanpool, walk, cycle, ride transit or telework.
  • Parents can walk with children to school, look into riding the school bus or make sure children's school participate in the Clean Air School program.
  • Businesses can encourage alternative commute options, offer incentivesto use clean commutes and get free consulting services for doing this from The Clean Air Campaign. 


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