Air Quality/Inversions (Salt Lake City, Sandy: commuters, professors, resident)

[dcisive]

Yea good old high pressure on it's way and with it comes that gunky air. I don't know about you but I sure am tired of it already, and it's far from over.

[skibarbie]

Inversion season "typically" ends in mid to late February. More daylight means more atmospheric mixing....hang in there dcisive!
I am just bummed that the pattern looks quite dry for us skiers now too..

[movingonagain777]

Moderator cut: copyright violation

[CCSLC]

The American Lung Association has released a report listing the metro areas and counties with the most polluted, dangerous air in the country. SLC did NOT make the list of worst air pollution areas! We did make a list, however, of areas that have problems with temporary "spikes" in air pollution.

Worst year-round particle pollution: Bakersfield, Merced, Fresno, Hanford CA, LA/Long Beach/Riverside, Modesto, Visalia, Pittsburg PA, El Centro, Cincinnati OH, Philadelphia, Louisville KY, Allentown/Bethlehem, Canton OH, Fairbanks AK, Macon GA, Atlanta GA, Phx AZ, Cleveland OH, Indianapolis IN, Steubenville OH, Wheeling WV, Birmingham AL, Dayton OH

Worst "spikes" of bad 24-hour periods of particulates: Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford, LA/Long Beach/Riverside, Modesto, SLC/Ogden, Pittsburg, Merced, Fairbanks, Logan UT, Provo, Stockton CA, Las Cruces NM, Eugene OR, Visalia, Chicago, Green Bay, Seattle/Tacoma, Harrisburg PA, Indiapolis, Phx, Allentown/Bethlehem, San Diego, Portland OR, South Bend

Worst overall ozone pollution: LA/Long Beach/Riverside, Visalia, Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford, Sacramento, Houston TX, Dallas TX, Washington DC, El Centro, Merced, San Diego, Modesto, Birmingham AL, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Louisville, NYC, Charlotte, Beaumont TX, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phx, Pittsburg, San Luis Obispo, St. Louis, Tulsa

I'm surprised about some of the other cities on the "spike" list, like Portland, Eugene, and Seattle.

Hey, movingonagain, maybe the Portland or Louisville forums need an air pollution thread for you to post articles to.

[dcisive]

From my days on the road when I used to travel a ton I can certainly remember Bakersfield and Fresno being in a funk most of the time. It was only when a fast moving storm came through they EVER cleared up. Any of those cities in the California Central Valley have that issue, usually fogging, smoggy or hazy. I can remember ONE rare clear day outside of Fresno I could actually SEE the Sierra Nevada range, but usually you never do. Surprised however to see San Luis Obisbo on that list. Every time I was there it was delightful. Portland isn't usually smoggy either nor Eugene, but on those occasions in the summer when they get really warm and muggy it's horrid.

[movingonagain777]

Video: Air quality in Utah and pollution's impact on our health | Deseret News

[movingonagain777]

Please sign the petition for cleaner air!

MoveOn Petitions - Utah Clean Air, No Excuses Petition

[mezman]

My wife has asthma and she's been really struggling during this inversion season. This is our first year here and it's not looking like we're going to be able to stay. Quite unfortunate as we were hoping this was the place for us and now we're at a loss of where to go next. We'll give it a few more weeks but we're going to need to make a decision before Dec of next year so we won't be able to wait to see if this is just a particularly bad year.

Stinks because we really enjoy it here otherwise. But I can't stand to see her come home looking beat and obviously laboring for breath.

[skibarbie]

Mezman, maybe you could head to Boulder?

[mezman]

Originally Posted by skibarbie

Mezman, maybe you could head to Boulder?

We stayed a night there on our way to SLC and liked it for the most part. It's a bit more expensive housing wise than we'd prefer and not quite as urban but I guess we could hit up Denver for that. Thankfully my wife's specialty is needed critically in just about ever place in the US so nearly all the places we'd want to live are open to us. We're just sad because we enjoy it here otherwise.