California air quality

Downieville, California Air Quality

Sierra County39.559, -120.827

The nearest monitor to Downieville, at Grass Valley - Airport, 25 miles away, measured an index of 36 at Sat, 6:00 AM PDT, which is Good for ground-level ozone. Northern Sierra AQMD forecasts Good for Portola today and Good tomorrow.

Measured now
36 · Good
Today
17 · Good
Tomorrow
22 · Good
Pollutant
Ozone

Fine particles on the map

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Downieville, California. Open it for the live map, where it pans and zooms.

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Downieville, California Open the live map with the particulate forecast

Map layer from NOAA National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

Alerts in force

An Air Quality Alert is issued by the National Weather Service on behalf of a state or local agency when pollution is expected to reach a level that harms health. An Air Stagnation Advisory means the air will not move enough to clear what is already in it.

None are in force near Downieville right now. All California warnings.

Now

Good

Nearest monitor
Grass Valley - Airport, 25 miles away (site 840060570010)
Index measured
36 · Good
Measured at
Sat, 6:00 AM PDT
Ozone
40 ppb
Reporting area
Portola, CA, 26 miles away
Reported by
Northern Sierra AQMD
Area index
16 · Good

Measured, not modeled. AirNow observations are preliminary until the operating agency certifies them, which happens months later.

Today and tomorrow

Northern Sierra AQMD's own forecast for Portola, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayGood17PM2.5
TomorrowGood22PM2.5
Monday, September 28Good33PM2.5
Tuesday, September 29Good39PM2.5
Wednesday, September 30Good39PM2.5

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Northern Sierra AQMD for Portola and filed with AirNow.

Friday, September 25: As an upper-level trough of low pressure passes to the north, gusty southwesterly surface winds will develop in Portola during the afternoon, effectively dispersing pollutants and leading to Good AQI levels. Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27: Moderate southwesterly to southerly surface winds will redevelop each afternoon as the next trough of low pressure strengthens along the northern California coast. These winds will effectively disperse pollutants, yielding continued Good AQI levels on both days. Monday, light and variable winds will inhibit pollutant dispersion in Portola as the low-pressure system departs to the south. However, cool aloft temperatures will continue to support mixing, resulting in another day of Good AQI levels. Tuesday and Wednesday, a building ridge of high pressure aloft will decrease atmospheric mixing over the northern Sierra. In addition, calm winds and temperature inversions will allow pollutants to accumulate in Portola each morning and evening. However, light to moderate easterly winds will aid dispersion each afternoon as a surface ridge of high pressure develops to the north, resulting in continued Good AQI levels on both days.

Hour by hour

NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability, bias-corrected against monitors, for this town’s own coordinate. The worst hour ahead is an index of 36, Good, around Sat, 10:00 PM PDT, from the run issued Fri, 11:00 PM PDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Sat, 8:00 AM PDT31Good1.534
Sat, 9:00 AM PDT31Good1.933.6
Sat, 10:00 AM PDT31Good2.733.8
Sat, 11:00 AM PDT31Good3.433.9
Sat, 12:00 PM PDT31Good2.734.2
Sat, 1:00 PM PDT31Good3.634.5
Sat, 2:00 PM PDT31Good2.134.7
Sat, 3:00 PM PDT32Good2.235.1
Sat, 4:00 PM PDT32Good2.335.5
Sat, 5:00 PM PDT33Good2.536.1
Sat, 6:00 PM PDT33Good3.336.7
Sat, 7:00 PM PDT34Good3.637.6
Sat, 8:00 PM PDT35Good3.738.2
Sat, 9:00 PM PDT35Good4.438.7
Sat, 10:00 PM PDT36Good4.339.1
Sat, 11:00 PM PDT36Good3.839.4
Sun, 12:00 AM PDT36Good3.639.6
Sun, 1:00 AM PDT36Good339.6
Sun, 2:00 AM PDT36Good3.139.2
Sun, 3:00 AM PDT35Good3.138.6
Sun, 4:00 AM PDT35Good2.838.2
Sun, 5:00 AM PDT34Good2.737.8
Sun, 6:00 AM PDT34Good3.437.2
Sun, 7:00 AM PDT33Good3.636.4
Sun, 8:00 AM PDT32Good3.535.6
Sun, 9:00 AM PDT31Good4.134.9
Sun, 10:00 AM PDT31Good434.4
Sun, 11:00 AM PDT31Good3.433.6
Sun, 12:00 PM PDT31Good333
Sun, 1:00 PM PDT30Good4.132.7
Sun, 2:00 PM PDT30Good2.732.6
Sun, 3:00 PM PDT30Good2.432.9
Sun, 4:00 PM PDT31Good2.433.4
Sun, 5:00 PM PDT31Good2.634.1
Sun, 6:00 PM PDT31Good2.734.8
Sun, 7:00 PM PDT32Good2.635.9
Sun, 8:00 PM PDT33Good2.836.9
Sun, 9:00 PM PDT34Good337.7
Sun, 10:00 PM PDT35Good3.338.1
Sun, 11:00 PM PDT35Good2.938.1
Mon, 12:00 AM PDT34Good2.637.8
Mon, 1:00 AM PDT34Good2.537.1
Mon, 2:00 AM PDT32Good2.536
Mon, 3:00 AM PDT31Good2.734.6
Mon, 4:00 AM PDT31Good2.133.3
Mon, 5:00 AM PDT30Good1.932.1
Mon, 6:00 AM PDT28Good1.830.8
Mon, 7:00 AM PDT27Good1.629.8
Mon, 8:00 AM PDT26Good1.529
Mon, 9:00 AM PDT26Good2.128.6
Mon, 10:00 AM PDT26Good2.128.8
Mon, 11:00 AM PDT27Good229.3
Mon, 12:00 PM PDT27Good1.130
Mon, 1:00 PM PDT28Good230.8
Mon, 2:00 PM PDT29Good1.331.8
Mon, 3:00 PM PDT30Good1.833
Mon, 4:00 PM PDT31Good1.734.1
Mon, 5:00 PM PDT32Good1.535.3
Mon, 6:00 PM PDT33Good1.336.2
Mon, 7:00 PM PDT33Good1.336.9
Mon, 8:00 PM PDT33Good1.236.9
Mon, 9:00 PM PDT33Good136.5
Mon, 10:00 PM PDT32Good0.635.9
Mon, 11:00 PM PDT32Good0.335.2

Fine particles in micrograms per cubic meter, ozone in parts per billion as an 8-hour average. The index for each hour is EPA’s: the ozone figure is already the 8-hour average the ozone index is defined on, and the particle figure is run through EPA’s NowCast, which is how an hourly PM2.5 concentration becomes an index.

Smoke

NOAA’s analysts have not drawn smoke over Downieville in satellite imagery today.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 2.5 µg/m³ around Sun, 9:00 AM PDT.

Smoke on the radar over Downieville

What this means

Good

Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

Who is affected
Nobody is expected to be affected.
What to do
It is a good day to be outside.
Index range
0 to 50

Category descriptions are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own.

What these numbers are. An index beside a monitor’s name is a measurement, published hourly by AirNow and preliminary until the operating agency certifies it. A category for today or tomorrow is a state or local agency forecaster’s own forecast for a reporting area. An hourly index is NOAA’s air quality model on a five-kilometer grid, not a reading from any instrument. Where a town has no monitor within reach, only the model figures appear, and the page says so.

Nearby

The nearest towns with a page of their own, closest first.

Weather forecast for DownievilleWarnings in Sierra CountyLive radar over DownievilleCalifornia air quality

Sources

Observations and daily forecasts from AirNow, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s program with NOAA, the National Park Service, NASA, tribal, state and local agencies. Hourly forecasts from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability. Smoke analysis from NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System. Alerts from the National Weather Service. Index categories and breakpoints are EPA’s, as revised in 2024.