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Kentucky Air Quality

Louisville is the worst air in Kentucky right now at an index of 64, which is Moderate, from fine particles (PM2.5). AirNow carries 11 reporting areas in the state. No air quality alert is in force.

Reporting areas: 11
Worst index now: 64
Alerts in force: 0
Towns under smoke: Unavailable

Fine particles on the map

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

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 in Kentucky right now. All Kentucky warnings.

By city, now and the days ahead11

Every AirNow reporting area in Kentucky: what its monitors measured this hour, and what the state or local agency that forecasts for it expects today and tomorrow. Each area links to the nearest town’s page.

Reporting area	Now	Category now	Today	Tomorrow	Pollutant
Louisville	64	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	PM2.5
Owensboro	59	Moderate	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Paducah	58	Moderate	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Elizabethtown	55	Moderate	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Bowling Green	52	Moderate	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Lexington	50	Good	Good	Not forecast	PM2.5
Northern Kentucky	49	Good	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Pikeville	31	Good	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Ashland	28	Good	Not forecast	Not forecast	Ozone
Hazard	21	Good	Not forecast	Not forecast	PM2.5
Mammoth Cave National Park		No reading	Good	Not forecast	Ozone

The forecaster’s discussion

Written by Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District for Louisville and filed with AirNow.

PM2.5 has been mostly moderate over the past few days, while ozone has been mostly good. Today will bring temperatures reaching the mid 90's at most. Cloud cover will increase later in the day and dewpoints will be in the 70's. Winds will be primarily from the north, reaching speeds over 5 mph, and mixing heights will rise above 5000 ft. There will be a low chance of scattered storms throughout the period. Tomorrow will bring similar temperatures and dewpoints, as well as partly cloudy skies. Winds will shift to be primarily from the south, reaching speeds near 5 mph, and mixing heights will rise above 5000 ft. Sunday will bring similar conditions; temperatures will reach the mid 90's and dewpoints will stay near 70. Skies will stay partly sunny. Winds will shift to be primarily from the southwest, reaching speeds over 5 mph, and mixing heights will rise above 6000 ft. Monday will bring slightly cooler temperatures, reaching near 90 degrees at most, while dewpoints stay around 70 degrees. Rain chance will increase towards the end of the day and into Monday night. Winds will shift to be primarily from the north, reaching speeds over 5 mph. The NOAA 6Z BC model shows mostly moderate PM2.5 over the next few days, while the Canadian model stays in the good range. The NOAA model is more consistent with recent measurements. Given recent conditions, as well as the relatively light winds, moderate PM2.5 buildup will continue to be possible. The Canadian model shows mostly moderate ozone throughout the next few days while the NOAA 6Z BC model shows mostly good. As temperatures reach into the 90's throughout the next few days, and as we expect to see some partly sunny skies, moderate ozone will be possible.

Smoke

NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis could not be read just now.

Smoke on the radar over Kentucky

What this means

The index runs from 0 to 500. Good is 0 to 50, Moderate to 100, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups to 150, Unhealthy to 200, Very Unhealthy to 300, and Hazardous above that. The figure reported for a place is the highest index among the pollutants measured there, and the pollutant that produced it is named beside it.

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.

Towns

Air quality for any town in Kentucky: what is measured nearby, the category forecast for today and tomorrow, and NOAA’s model hour by hour. Largest first.

55 smaller towns

Smaller places have pages too; search for one on the air quality landing page.

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.