California air quality

Walnut Grove, California Air Quality

Sacramento County38.242, -121.512

The nearest monitor to Walnut Grove, at Elk Grove, 6 miles away, measured an index of 28 at Mon, 9:00 AM PDT, which is Good for fine particles (PM2.5). Sacramento Metro. AQMD forecasts Good for Elk Grove today and Moderate tomorrow. NOAA’s analysts drew light wildfire smoke over the town today.

Measured now
28 · Good
Today
50 · Good
Tomorrow
61 · Moderate
Pollutant
PM2.5

Fine particles on the map

Forecast fine particulate matter from NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability over Walnut Grove, 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 Walnut Grove, 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 Walnut Grove right now. All California warnings.

Now

Good

Nearest monitor
Elk Grove, 6 miles away (site 060670011)
Index measured
28 · Good
Measured at
Mon, 9:00 AM PDT
Fine particles
3 µg/m³
Ozone
27 ppb
Reporting area
Elk Grove, CA, 14 miles away
Reported by
Sacramento Metro. AQMD
Area index
28 · Good

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

Today and tomorrow

Sacramento Metro. AQMD's own forecast for Elk Grove, written by a forecaster rather than read off a model.

DayCategoryIndexPollutant
TodayGood50Ozone
TomorrowModerate61Ozone
Wednesday, September 23Moderate74Ozone
Thursday, September 24Moderate74Ozone
Friday, September 25Moderate51Ozone
Saturday, September 26Good47Ozone

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Sacramento Metro. AQMD for Elk Grove and filed with AirNow.

Monday, mostly sunny skies will support ozone formation in the Sacramento region. However, high temperatures in the low-80s will limit ozone production. In addition, light to moderate onshore winds will develop through the afternoon, dispersing pollutants and leading to low-Moderate ozone levels. Tuesday, lighter winds will allow pollutants to accumulate in the Sacramento region. Furthermore, mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the mid-80s will increase ozone production slightly, yielding mid-Moderate ozone levels. Wednesday, winds will remain light in the Sacramento region, limiting dispersion and leading to pollutant build-up. Furthermore, a weak upper-level ridge of high pressure will produce sunny skies and surface temperatures in the low-90s, enhancing ground-level ozone formation. As a result, ozone levels will be mid-Moderate.

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 55, Moderate, around Tue, 6:00 PM PDT, from the run issued Mon, 5:00 AM PDT. This is a model, not a measurement.

HourIndexCategoryPM2.5Ozone
Mon, 7:00 AM PDT32Good5.8
Mon, 8:00 AM PDT27Good4
Mon, 9:00 AM PDT29Good5.8
Mon, 10:00 AM PDT28Good4.8
Mon, 11:00 AM PDT38Good8.7
Mon, 12:00 PM PDT42Good8.5
Mon, 1:00 PM PDT44Good8.331.2
Mon, 2:00 PM PDT45Good8.233.6
Mon, 3:00 PM PDT47Good936.8
Mon, 4:00 PM PDT42Good6.839.4
Mon, 5:00 PM PDT39Good6.541.5
Mon, 6:00 PM PDT47Good9.942.7
Mon, 7:00 PM PDT49Good9.542.4
Mon, 8:00 PM PDT46Good7.740.9
Mon, 9:00 PM PDT42Good6.839.6
Mon, 10:00 PM PDT42Good737.5
Mon, 11:00 PM PDT38Good6.234.9
Tue, 12:00 AM PDT37Good6.232.1
Tue, 1:00 AM PDT36Good6.229.3
Tue, 2:00 AM PDT36Good6.326.8
Tue, 3:00 AM PDT36Good6.524.5
Tue, 4:00 AM PDT36Good6.623.4
Tue, 5:00 AM PDT37Good6.821.9
Tue, 6:00 AM PDT32Good520.4
Tue, 7:00 AM PDT29Good4.619.4
Tue, 8:00 AM PDT22Good2.918
Tue, 9:00 AM PDT26Good5.417.6
Tue, 10:00 AM PDT27Good517.9
Tue, 11:00 AM PDT40Good9.819.5
Tue, 12:00 PM PDT46Good9.421.7
Tue, 1:00 PM PDT49Good9.324.5
Tue, 2:00 PM PDT49Good928.2
Tue, 3:00 PM PDT51Moderate9.432.3
Tue, 4:00 PM PDT49Good8.636.7
Tue, 5:00 PM PDT52Moderate10.339.9
Tue, 6:00 PM PDT55Moderate12.743
Tue, 7:00 PM PDT55Moderate11.544.1
Tue, 8:00 PM PDT53Moderate943.4
Tue, 9:00 PM PDT48Good7.241.8
Tue, 10:00 PM PDT41Good6.339.2
Tue, 11:00 PM PDT38Good6.436.4
Wed, 12:00 AM PDT41Good833.2
Wed, 1:00 AM PDT43Good8.229.9
Wed, 2:00 AM PDT43Good7.825.8
Wed, 3:00 AM PDT42Good7.323
Wed, 4:00 AM PDT46Good9.221.4
Wed, 5:00 AM PDT46Good8.319.5
Wed, 6:00 AM PDT42Good6.618.1
Wed, 7:00 AM PDT40Good6.415.4
Wed, 8:00 AM PDT32Good4.513.2
Wed, 9:00 AM PDT30Good5.312.4
Wed, 10:00 AM PDT30Good5.313.2
Wed, 11:00 AM PDT44Good10.615
Wed, 12:00 PM PDT51Moderate10.817.6
Wed, 1:00 PM PDT52Moderate9.922
Wed, 2:00 PM PDT53Moderate10.426.8
Wed, 3:00 PM PDT53Moderate1033.7
Wed, 4:00 PM PDT49Good7.740.8
Wed, 5:00 PM PDT44Good7.346.7
Wed, 6:00 PM PDT47Good8.951.1
Wed, 7:00 PM PDT49Good6.753.1
Wed, 8:00 PM PDT49Good7.753.1
Wed, 9:00 PM PDT47Good6.551.1
Wed, 10:00 PM PDT44Good5.747.2
Wed, 11:00 PM PDT42Good8.842.4
Thu, 12:00 AM PDT44Good8.537.4
Thu, 1:00 AM PDT46Good8.732.4
Thu, 2:00 AM PDT49Good9.827.5
Thu, 3:00 AM PDT48Good8.523.5
Thu, 4:00 AM PDT47Good820.7
Thu, 5:00 AM PDT36Good4.518.4

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 Hazard Mapping System analysts drew light smoke over Walnut Grove in satellite imagery today (Mon, 5:00 AM PDT to Mon, 8:00 AM PDT). That is smoke seen from above; it is not always smoke at ground level.

NOAA’s model forecasts near-surface smoke peaking at 1.2 µg/m³ around Tue, 6:00 PM PDT.

Smoke on the radar over Walnut Grove

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 Walnut GroveWarnings in Sacramento CountyLive radar over Walnut GroveCalifornia 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.