FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY for poor air quality Wednesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Smoke from fires in eastern Canada will be making its way to the Midlands Wednesday making it a First Alert Weather Day.

An Air Quality Warning has been issued for the areas shaded in gray. Everyone should limit their time outdoors. Those that are sensitive to smoke (asthma/heart or lung disease) should stay indoors.

FIRST ALERT HEADLINES

• Highs are near 90 Wednesday with a 20% chance of showers and storms.
• FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY: Smoke will be moving into the region Wednesday, which could lower our air quality an Air Quality Warning has been issued.
• A cold front moves in Thursday and cools us down and brings a 40% chance of showers.
• Friday is drier with mostly sunny skies, but temps are still below average with low 80s.
• We’re back into the 90s Saturday and staying dry.
• Our next chance of rain comes in Sunday into Monday with another cold front approaching.

FIRST ALERT WEATHER SUMMARY

Tonight we have temps in the mid 60s with partly cloudy skies. There’s a 20% chance of some isolated strong storms as a small shortwave moves over the region.

The upper levels of the atmosphere will bring smoke to the Midlands Wednesday. Air quality will degrade as the afternoon wears on. There’s an upper level low parked to the northeast and a high over the upper Midwest. These two systems are funneling in the smoke and haze from Quebec. An Air Quality Warning has been issued for the northern half of the Midlands for the entire day of Wednesday until midnight Thursday. Everyone should limit time outdoors and those with high sensitivity to smoke should not spend any time outside.

High temps are in the low 90s with sunny skies, but a small shortwave will bring a 20% chance of a pop up storm for the afternoon/evening.

Thursday we see a cold front move into the region. This brings clouds and a 40% chance of showers. High temperatures are cooling off with temps topping off near 80.

Low 80s for Friday and drier air moves in behind the front. Skies are mostly sunny with lows in the upper 50s and highs in the low 80s. There’s a high pressure system at the surface of the earth, but aloft still a trough in the jet stream!

Saturday is warming up with highs in the low 90s. We see mostly sunny skies once again.

We wait for a cold front Sunday with a 40% chance of showers. Lows are in the mid 60s and highs reach the low 90s. There’s a 50% chance of rain for Monday.

FIRST ALERT FORECAST

Tonight: Partly cloudy with an isolated storm or two this evening, lows are in the mid 60s.

Wednesday: Sunny with smoke and haze as highs reach the low 90s. There’s a 20% chance of an isolated evening storm.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers. Highs are near 80.

Friday: Mostly sunny skies with highs back to the low-80s.

Saturday: Mostly sunny and hotter with highs around 90.

Sunday: Partly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and storms.

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article's headline.

Stay up to date with WIS News 10. Get the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and Stream us on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV.

Copyright 2023 WIS. All rights reserved.