2009 Changes to the PA Department of Environmental
Protection Susquehanna Valley Air Quality Forecasting Program

At the Clean Air Board's April, 2009 Community Meeting, Thomas Au, CAB Advocacy Chair, gave a presentation on the new forecast advisories: "The Air Quality Index and Your Health" (PowerPoint). The following email, from a Pennsylvania DEP meteorologist, describes the new advisories. If you would like to receive Air Quality Index forecasts from the PA DEP via email, please visit http://www.enviroflash.info .

Hello Forecast Subscriber,

I am sending out this email to inform you of some exciting new changes in the air quality forecasting for the Susquehanna Valley starting next Monday, April 27.

1.) First off, the week of April 27 through May 1 marks the EPA / NWS National Air Quality Awareness Week.  There are activities slated for each day to help the public become more "Air Aware".  For more details, feel free to visit the Air Quality Awareness Week website at http://www.epa.gov/airnow/airaware/airaware.html .

2.) On Monday, April 27, we will also begin to issue ozone forecasts daily.  Therefore, the forecast for the Susquehanna Valley area will include a forecast for both ozone and PM 2.5 through the summer months.  The ozone forecast season usually runs from late April to mid September since we see our peak ozone concentrations during that time.  Why?  Ozone is a photochemical pollutant (needs the reaction of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic carbons with the sunlight to form).  We will continue to use the new ozone Air Quality Index (AQI) scale, which utilizes the April 2008 ozone standard of 76 parts per billion (ppb) as the cutpoint between YELLOW and ORANGE.

SPECIAL FORECAST NOTE:   Even though we will be officially starting the ozone forecasting next Monday, we might have to focus a bit on ozone forecasting for this upcoming weekend (Sat. Apr. 25 through Mon. Apr. 27) due to the very warm temperatures that will be making their way into the region.  More details forthcoming in your daily air quality forecast, coming to an email inbox near you...

3.) On Monday, April 27, we will also begin to use a new cut point in the PM 2.5 AQI scale .    The reason:   EPA will   eventually  be releasing a finalized PM 2.5 AQI scale.    The history:   Back in November 2006, EPA released a new PM 2.5 standard, changing the 24-hour PM 2.5 threshold from 65 ug/m3 to 35 ug/m3 (for more details, see   http://www.epa.gov/oar/particlepollution/naaqsrev2006.html ).  Unlike ozone in 2.) above, EPA did not release a change in the PM 2.5 AQI scale during the time of the announcement of the new PM 2.5 standard.  However, the recently proposed PM 2.5 AQI scale would change the Code YELLOW to Code ORANGE cutpoint in the AQI to 35.5 ug/m3.  Here is how this change would have influenced the issuance of Air Quality Action Days for PM 2.5 over the past 4 years...

**Number of days calculated during the entire year, from January 1 through December 31.

Therefore, we will now be using the 35.5 ug/m3 cut point (instead of the old 40.5 ug/m3 threshold) as the break point between the YELLOW and ORANGE threshold on the AQI scale.

4.) I am really excited about this item... On Monday, April 27, we will begin utilizing the US EPA Airnow EnviroFlash system to disseminate the forecast (for more info, go to http://www.enviroflash.info ).  Don't worry... this will be a pretty seamless transition.  You will see the forecast in your inbox (with a fresh new look) around 2:30 to 3:00 PM on Monday, April 27.  I will tell you now... you will not need to resubscribe.  I have set everyone to receive the proper forecast (i.e. whether you want the forecast everyday or just on Action Days).  The only discrepancy will be to those who only want the forecast during the summer.  Unfortunately, there was no "summertime only" option.  So you will receive the forecast year round, whether it is just everyday or just on Action Days.

Keep in mind that you are a registered user of the EnviroFlash program.  In order to adjust your subscription level (or if you would like to receive air quality forecast for additional areas), go to http://www.enviroflash.info/login.cfm  to change your subscription settings.  Your email address is the only thing that you will need to change your settings.

5.) I am equally as excited about this item... In the next week or two, the PA DEP will be teaming forces with the National Weather Service (NWS) out of State College to issue two new types of statements, the AQI and AQA statements.  These two statements are both products of the NWS.  The AQI statement will be produced daily during the week and will display the AQI forecast for the upcoming day (or upcoming three days when the forecast is released on Friday).  The AQA statement (otherwise known an Air Quality Alert statement) will be issued when we forecast an Air Quality Action Day.  To conclude, these will be our forecasts just redistributed to the general public in a wider and more efficient manner.  We are very pleased to have the help of the NWS to distribute the forecasts in this manner.

Whew... I don't know about you but I am a bit winded.  These five items provide an exciting opportunity for us to expand the reach of the air quality forecasts in the Susquehanna Valley.

Once again, thank you for your support in receiving the Susquehanna Valley air quality forecasts.  Have a great summer.

Regards,

Sean

---

Sean Nolan

 | Meteorologist
PA Department of Environmental Protection
www.depweb.state.pa.us