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I am trying to research what the inversion layer is and how it affects Boise. Is it fog, smog, haze? And does it last long in each season.
Portland has a white haze that seems to linger during the summer. Is this the same thing?
It's basically a low dirty fog that hangs in the valley. It wasn't bad this winter but it has been known to stick around for several days/weeks straight.
It's basically a low dirty fog that hangs in the valley. It wasn't bad this winter but it has been known to stick around for several days/weeks straight.
Thanks for the info truckingbronco. Are the summers clear and the sky blue? Is the inversion in the winter months only?
Thanks for the info truckingbronco. Are the summers clear and the sky blue? Is the inversion in the winter months only?
I've only been here a few years, but from what I've seen, the inversions are mostly limited to Nov-Feb and there is quite a bit of sunshine the rest of the year, especially in the summer.
I should also point out that I'm from the Pac NW, so my definition of "quite a bit" of sunshine may be a little skewed.
Thanks for the info truckingbronco. Are the summers clear and the sky blue? Is the inversion in the winter months only?
Like any other major city, Boise has its share of pollutants, smog, smoke, dust, and agriculture particles, which can turn the summer sky grayish.
If you want to a see, nice clear blue sky, you head up to the mountains. They are not far away.
Like any other major city, Boise has its share of pollutants, smog, smoke, dust, and agriculture particles, which can turn the summer sky grayish.
If you want to a see, nice clear blue sky, you head up to the mountains. They are not far away.
I always wondered what makes summer skies so "milky" looking compared to the clearer, bluer skies of cooler months...
It can get bad in August-October because of wildfires, It got really bad a few years ago and outdoor school activities were canceled, and during the BSU-OSU game you couldn't even see the mountains from the stadium, which is pretty bad.
I think the schools were being a little over dramatic though considering I was working outside during this time. Healthy people should be fine.
The winter inversion hasn't been bad at all for the last two or three years though. And if it really gets to you, it's a short drive Bogus Basin, which gets you above the smog layer and into the sunlight.
It can get bad in August-October because of wildfires, It got really bad a few years ago and outdoor school activities were canceled, and during the BSU-OSU game you couldn't even see the mountains from the stadium, which is pretty bad.
I think the schools were being a little over dramatic though considering I was working outside during this time. Healthy people should be fine.
The winter inversion hasn't been bad at all for the last two or three years though. And if it really gets to you, it's a short drive Bogus Basin, which gets you above the smog layer and into the sunlight.
Yeah, it has not been bad at all for the past couple to three years, it seemed to be worse three and more years ago becaue of the drought cycle the western US was in at the time. Except for a few days during the winter and late summer, it seems to have been a non issue these past few years and so far this year.
I think when we do get it bad, which isn't often, that the smog blows up from Salt Lake because it is overflowing in their valley and escaping
My understanding of the process is that cold air gets trapped below a layer of warmer air and becomes stagnant. The cold air gets dirtier and dirtier due to normal city processes, such as car exhaust, fireplace burning, factory emissions, and agricultural emissions.
The cold air makes a little "bubble" in the valley that the warm air just glides across the top of, not mixing, so the cold air just hangs around getting more and more dirty until a storm comes through and blows all the stagnant air out of the valley. The reason the inversions have been less severe the last few years is because the storms have come through more regularly. The more often the storms, the cleaner the air.
Because the inversion is related to the cold weather, it is a winter only event. As jufrbo said, we do get some dirty air in the summertime if there are fires, but that is an entirely different phenomenon, not related to inversions.
Dictionary.com defines an inversion as this:
Also called atmospheric inversion, temperature inversion.Meteorology. a reversal in the normal temperature lapse rate, the temperature rising with increased elevation instead of falling.
In other words, it is warmer at Bogus than it is in Boise.
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